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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25074487">Falling Into You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diradela/pseuds/Diradela'>Diradela</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Drama, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Drama, M/M, Politics, Romance, Violence, War, inspired by crash landing on you</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:01:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>38,553</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25074487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diradela/pseuds/Diradela</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto, the scion of Konoha political royalty, was no stranger to scandal, but when a freak accident lands him in enemy territory he finds himself in a situation that is way over his head. Luckily, a sullen but handsome Sound soldier has agreed to help him, but with their countries on the brink of war will Naruto be able to make it back home with his life and his heart intact?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke (one-sided), Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>98</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. First Flight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Notes: Quarantine has been eating your girl's brain but after binging Crash Landing on You (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) I was inspired to write a Sasunaru fic for the first time in like ten years! I hope y’all enjoy whatever this is lol.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Umm Sir, I don’t think it’s that bad.” Obito said placatingly.</p><p>“He’s young, I’m sure this will blow over soon.” Yamato reasoned. </p><p>“I mean, it’s not like the Suna incident.” Rin said, almost pleadingly.</p><p>Minato felt an all too familiar migraine pulling at the side of his temples. Were his aides even looking at the same screen?</p><p>There, blown up for the whole world to see was Naruto in a position no father wanted to see his son. It was a short, 30 second clip ripped from what he assumed to be Instagram Live, or maybe Snap Chat? Minato could never keep up on what social media platforms the kids were using these days. </p><p>Naruto was lounging on a couch, shirtless.  A blonde woman was on his left placing open mouth kisses down his neck and Shikamaru, his son’s friend, was on his right, his hand on Naruto’s scared cheek, devouring his face in a raunchy kiss. The jeers and the laughter of the party goers could be heard over heavy bass of the music and, if the scene wasn’t scandalous enough, the table in front of the couch was shrouded in alcohol, clusters of weed and an array of colourful pills that could be who knows what. </p><p>The video ended with the three stumbling off the couch, giggling as they moved off camera. It didn’t take a genius to know they were headed.</p><p>His media team had gotten a heads up on the video’s existence a couple of hours ago and now it was surely making it’s rounds on the news. It was an election year. Everyone was hungry for a scandal and Naruto just gave the country a juicy one. </p><p>Minato buried his face in his hands.  Why was his son hell bent on giving him an aneurysm and sending him to an early grave?</p><p>“Kakashi,” Minato called out, his voice muffled, “tell me the damage.”</p><p>His senior advisor was a brilliant, but brutally honest man. He had been with Minato since the very beginning of his political career, back when he was a no name lawyer vying for a spot on Kohana’s city council. He followed Minato on his long and hard-fought journey from local politics to the hallowed halls the Fire Nation’s Parliament. </p><p>“Not good.” Kakashi said, frank as always. “I think it’s best if I just show you.”</p><p>With a deep sigh Minato straightened in his seat to look at the screen. His face was of man who was ready to face execution. Kakashi changed the channel to Konoha National, the right leaning network that revealed in the Social Democratic Party’s short comings. </p><p>“FINANCE MINISTER’S SON IN ANOTHER SCANDAL! SEX, DRUGS, POLYGAMY, WHAT’S NEXT?”  The header was splayed across the top of the screen in flashy font. The incriminating video was played in an endless loop on one side of the screen while conservative pundits filled the other side. </p><p>“How are the people supposed to trust Minister Namikaze to be responsible for our country’s coffers when he cannot even control his own son?” A sharply dressed commenter said. </p><p>“This is just indictive of the general recklessness and abandon of Tsunade’s SDP. The party just isn’t aligned with the Fire people’s morals.” Another analyst chimed in. </p><p>“My thoughts exactly. I mean what message is the Namikaze family sending to this nation’s youth? Are they saying that this sort of……behaviour is okay?” The anchor said, her red lips pursed in disappointment. </p><p>All three pundits nodded sagely in agreement and the continued to lay out how Naruto’s antics was evidence that the SDP were a horde of sex-crazed, immoral, communists who were hell bent on destroying the Fire Nation’s way of life. </p><p>“Twitter isn’t any better,” Kakashi supplied. “The video is trending in the southern provinces.”</p><p>Minato let out a groan. Of course it was trending in the south.  The farm belt was by the far the most traditional portion of the country. While the SDP was able to make some inroads and pick up a few seats in the region through their ambitious economic plans, the majority of the region was still blood red and were loyal to the Family Party. The SDP came to power by the skin of their teeth and this election was set to be brutal. Nothing was off limits. </p><p>With his charming smile, and rather eccentric lifestyle, Naruto was a common topic in the Fire Nation tabloids. While urban sectors looked upon the escapades of his beautiful son with humor, the rural regions were not as forgiving and made their ire known in an endless stream of think pieces, tweets and rants on morning radio. Naruto’s latest stunt bought of recklessness had just handed the opposition their first political win of the election season. </p><p>Tsunade is going to kill me, Minato thought.</p><p>As if on que, the phone let out a shrill ring. </p><p>Every occupant in the room looked at the ringing phone with a grimance. Minato let out a put-upon sigh. There was no need to delay the inevitable. </p><p>He picked up the phone.</p><p>“Sir, the Prime Minister is on the line.” Judging by his secretary’s shaky voice, Tsunade was far from pleased.</p><p>“Put her through please.” There was a beep and then Minato was connected to their fiery leader.</p><p>“Tsunade, how are you?” Minato said in greeting. </p><p>“How am I? I’ll tell you how I’m doing Namikaze.” What came next was the talk down of the century. The Prime Minister was not one to mince words, so she brutally and loudly let Namikaze what she thought of this latest scandal. Her tirade was so loud, her voice cracked through the phone speakers and everyone in the room could hear every harsh word she spewed at Minato.</p><p>Minato knew better than to interject so he sat there and took the reprimand with a stony expression. </p><p>“Fix this,” Tsunade said with finality and then hung up. </p><p>There was a moment of silence. Minato just looked at the screen with an unreadable expression and his aides just looked at themselves, not knowing what to do. </p><p>Kakashi finally got the wherewithal to shut off the TV off, breaking the office from its trance. </p><p>“Sir, would you like for me to get your son?” Kakashi asked. </p><p>“Please,” Minato answered as he ran a hand through his hair. At this rate, he was going to be bald before his 46th birthday. </p><p>Kushina, what am I gonna do about our son?</p>
<hr/><p>Naruto knew he was in trouble when he saw Kakashi waiting for him outside his environmental policy class. The tall, white-haired man was leaning against his sleek sports car, a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth. He was lazily scrolling his through his phone all the while looking completely out of place amongst the students of campus in his crisp, expensive suit. </p><p>“Yo,” he said, in greeting.</p><p>Naruto grimaced at the cigarette smoke. “I thought you quit.”</p><p>“Your father thinks I’ve quit, so let’s leave it at that,” he said with a shrug. </p><p>Some of the passing by students were doing a double take at Kakashi and his gaudy car. Naruto shifted uncomfortably. “You know you could’ve just texted that my dad wanted to see me like a normal person.  There’s no reason to escort me and cause a scene.”</p><p>Kakashi scoffed. “Come on blondie, we both know you would have ignored a text like that and besides, with the stunts you pull, you’d think you’d be used to being the centre of attention,” He teased, as he ruffled Naruto’s hair good naturedly.</p><p>Naruto pushed him off and fought down a blush. Honestly, everyone was blowing this video out of proportion. To celebrate the end of a brutal midterm season, Naruto and his friends decided to go to a house party. One thing led to another and they got a little overzealous during their drunken game of truth or dare, but they were in college. Partying was par for the course. It wasn’t like he was hurting anybody with his little make out session with Shikamaru and Ino. So what if a bunch of stuck up talking heads were throwing a tantrum?</p><p>But Naruto knew his father. “So, what’s the damage. How mad is he?”</p><p>Kakashi took a final drag from his cigarette. He was about to throw the bud on the ground but thought better of it once he caught Naruto’s raised brow. He smothered the flame with sole of his polished leather shoe and then flicked the bud in the near garbage bin instead. With aim like that, it was hard to forget that Kakashi was once a top snipper during the war. </p><p> “On a scale from 1 to ten, I think he’s on DEFCON 1. Drug filled threesomes are sort of frowned upon during an election year, in case you didn’t know.” </p><p>Naruto pouted. “Threesome? That’s a bit excessive.”  He had woken up in a pile of limbs with a huge hangover, but his pants still on thank you very much. </p><p>“We only went to second base,” Naruto said under his breath. </p><p>“Yeah, I don’t think KN is gonna capture that nuance.” He beckoned Naruto to get in the car. “Let’s go kiddo, time to face the music. “</p><p>Even though it was midday, the streets were still jampacked. The traffic in Kohana’s downtown core was notorious for its gridlock, so it was no surprise to Naruto or Kakashi that they soon found themselves bumper to bumper with the other drivers.</p>
<hr/><p>As they moved at a glacial pace, Naruto leaned his head on the window and watched the cityscape slowly pass by.</p><p>It was hard to believe that the city was ever a warzone. Instead of sleek, gleaming skyscrapers, Kohana’s skyline was dotted with crumbling, bullet ridded buildings. While the city and the entire country did a marvelous job of covering its battle scares in a mere generation, it didn’t mean that they weren’t at war. Their stalemate with the Sound Nation was precarious and prone to flare ups of violence that Naruto was all too familiar with.</p><p>Konoha Parliament Tower sat at the very heart of the city. It was an imposing, but impressive structure made of glass and steel. Inspired by the Kage Palaces of old, the building rose to the sky in smooth round lines and towered over its neighbouring buildings like a mountain. </p><p>Naruto may have had choice thoughts about his father’s profession and colleagues, but as an architecture major, even he had to admit Parliament Tower was beautiful.</p><p>Once Kakashi and Naruto made it to his Father’s office, a hush took over the employees. The office was designed in an open concept style. There were no partitions between the employees and his father’s workspace was segregated behind a cage of frosted glass. The aides pretended to be hard at work, typing away on the keyboard, but they kept throwing surreptitious looks at Naruto.</p><p>Naruto couldn’t help but be reminded of grade school. His big mouth and pranks had often times gotten him a one-way ticket to the principal’s office. As he did the walk of shame out of the classroom, his classmates would look at him with varying looks of shock, distain and pity. </p><p>“God speed Naruto,” Obito, his father’s chief of staff said as he passed his desk. Rin, his father’s top speech writer, nodded in encouragement. </p><p>Kakashi knocked on the door gently.</p><p>“Come in,” His father called from the other side. </p><p>The room was baked in brilliant afternoon light streaming from the floor to ceiling windows. The office had a spectacular view. From this high up, Kohana’s splendor was displayed right at their feet. The Hashirama Mountain Range took up the horizon, a natural sentential protecting them from their enemies in the north. </p><p>People have always said that Naruto was the carbon copy of his father. He had inherited the man’s cornflower blue eyes and golden hair. His friends had always teased, much to Naruto’s annoyance, that his father was by far the most handsome member of cabinet, but right now his father didn’t look so good. He looked haggard, older than his 45 years and for the first time, Naruto noticed strands of grey in his disheveled blond locks. </p><p>Naruto couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt at his father’s worn appearance. He knew he wasn’t the easiest son to have, and while he saw nothing wrong with his actions, politics was unforgiving. He was sure his father’s colleagues were giving him a hard time and that this was not an ideal way to start of the election cycle. But that didn’t mean he was going to apologize and change how he lived to fit other people’s sensibilities. </p><p>His father looked at him, the disappointment as clear as the sky behind him. </p><p>The silence between them was long and awkward. It didn’t help that the muted TV mounted on the screen was on KN, which had the Naruto’s incriminating video playing on an endless loop.</p><p>While they lived in the same city, it had been almost a month since they have seen each other. Naruto lived in apartment near Konohagakure University and while they were supposed to have weekly dinners, his father had constantly needed to postpone them due to his hectic schedule. Naruto would still go though, someone had to keep Kumara, their family cat, company. </p><p>“Hi, dad.” Naruto said, breaking the silence. </p><p>Minato sighed. “Sit,” he said in a stern voice, gesturing towards the chair in front of the desk.<br/>
Naruto, bristled. He didn’t like being treated like a disobedient employee, but he knew when to pick his battles, so he did as he was told. </p><p>Kakashi moved to leave but stopped when his father raised his hand. “Please stay Kakashi, we’ll need to draft a statement so it’s better if you listen in.”</p><p>“Statement? Yeah, that’s not happening,” Naruto said with a scoff. </p><p>“And why not? Do you even know the headache you caused with this video? I have had southern MPs calling me all morning saying that this is going to cost them their re-election.”</p><p>Naruto let out a humorless laugh. “If they think they’re going to lose because of a harmless video, then maybe they shouldn’t be in politics in the first place.”</p><p>“Do you think this is funny? Are you trying to get Danzo elected, because I think at this point, you’re the FP’s best asset.”</p><p>That made Naruto shoot from his seat in anger. “How can you say that? You know I hate those nationalist freaks more than anything.”</p><p>Naruto had met Danzo Shimura once at a New Year’s ball hosted by Prime Minister Tsunade. He had spoken to the man for a total of two minutes, and the entire time he was biting his tongue and resisting the urge to through his sparkling cider at his wrinkled face.</p><p>The Shimura family made their fortune in weapons manufacturing, but after the end of the Second Great war, they shifted their focus to politics. Danzo’s whole political stick was centred around “family values” and bringing “honor” back into government, which meant he pushed for xenophobic, militaristic, and archaic policies that would take the Fire Nation 50 years back. </p><p>“I say that because you’re string of scandals have been a godsend to his campaign. I honestly think they should start paying you at this point.”</p><p>“Now you’re just being dramatic,” Naruto said crossing his arms in defence.</p><p>“Really let’s see. We have your arrest during your senior year.”</p><p>“I was protesting a pipeline.’</p><p>“A pipeline that the SDP sponsored! Oh, we can’t forget the assault you carried out outside of that drag bar on Ozan Street, while being underage mind you,” Minato said, his voice tinged with sarcasm. </p><p>Naruto’s mugshot had become a bit of a meme that year. In the picture, he had a big black eye and a busted lip, but he also had a face full of makeup thanks to Ino. The juxtaposition between his bruises and his bold red eye shadow and lip-gloss was too much for the internet to pass up on. That was a strange few months. </p><p>“Those assholes wouldn’t leave those queens alone.”  Naruto felt himself getting hot from anger. He hated how condescending his father could get during fights.</p><p>Minato ignored his defence and carried on with his tirade. “I thought the assault was going to be the highlight, but then you outdid yourself with the Suna incident. But now Danzo has this lovely snuff video to add to his stump speeches.”</p><p>Naruto was so furious couldn’t even look at Minato. He felt his eyes watering in frustration, so kept his gaze on the shelve to the right. It was filled with an assortment of mementos commemorating pieces of his father’s life. There was a law degree, a series of public service awards, scribbled doodles Naruto had had made in his youth, and in the centre was a framed picture from Naruto’s grade school graduation.</p><p>He may have gotten his colouring from his father, but Naruto’s round face, wide eyes, and big dimpled smile came straight from his mother. In the picture, they were both smiling so wide their eyes were shinning crescents. Naruto was proudly displaying his life green Konoha Prep diploma to the camera. His mother was bent over, hugging him to her side while his father was behind, hand on his skinny shoulder with his own small smile to the camera.</p><p>Looking at the photo always caused a wave of sadness to wash over Naruto. It was the last picture they had taken as a family.</p><p>“Are you listening?” His father’s angry voice interjected.</p><p>Naruto sighed; he was so tired of this. </p><p>“Look dad, I’m sorry that that video came out and caused you trouble at work. I wasn’t the one who posted it but regardless of that fact I’m not going to apologize for my actions because I didn’t do anything wrong.”</p><p>His father pinched the bridge of his noise in frustration, looking as if speaking to Naruto was causing him great pain. “Whether you like it or not you’re a public figure. Whatever you do effects not only me but the SDP.</p><p>That set Naruto off. “So, what do you want me to be a puppet? Do you want me to be like Danzo Jr. and parrot everything you say?”</p><p>Toshi, Danzo’s son, made his living going on every prime-time news show to peddle his father’s draconian ideals. The man was just as insufferable as Danzo. He went to Kohana U, so Naruto had the misfortune of running into him on multiple occasions. One of his fondest memories was giving the man a black eye during a student union meeting. </p><p>“I’m an adult,” Naruto continued, “and my life isn’t tied to what the SDP wants. I love you but I’m not going to live like a puritan just to help your party win a few extra percentage points at the polls.”</p><p>His father didn’t speak for a moment. He just looked at Naruto, disappointment clear in his face.</p><p>“You may technically be an adult, but you seem hell bent on staying in your rebellious teenage phase. I thought you moving out, having your own apartment and living in the real word would centre you, but clearly I was mistaken.”</p><p>Naruto eyes widened. He knew where his father was headed.</p><p>“Ever since you moved out you have been getting more and more selfish and reckless. You may think you live in a vacuum but whether you like it or not your behaviour has been hurting a lot of people. Starting today you’re moving back home.”</p><p>“No, I’m not. You can’t force me to move.”</p><p>“I pay for your apartment, so its within my right to take it back.” </p><p>Naruto was seeing red and he felt his face grow hot. It had been a long time since he had been this angry. </p><p>His eyes caught Kakashi’s. In the heat of the argument he had forgotten the man was even there. </p><p>Kakashi’s poker face was legendary, but even he looked surprised at his father’s words.</p><p>“Tell this man that he’s being unreasonable.” Naruto said, desperate for one ally. </p><p>“Sir,” Kakashi looked like he’d rather be back in the battlefield rather than in the middle of this familial dispute. “There’s no need to overact. The video will eventually blow over.”</p><p>“This morning you were just telling me how the internet was on fire.”</p><p>Naruto shot a glare at Kakashi. </p><p>“Yeah, but sir that was before I got some further details on the matter.”</p><p>“Please, do tell.”</p><p>“Well you see, Naruto only went to second base.”</p><p>Naruto face palmed. Some help that was. </p><p>Minato just shook his head at the comment and continued. “We’ll keep our statement simple. We’ll say something like that Naruto is sorry that his actions have distracted the public from the key issues of this election and that he’s currently focused on spending more time with his family and on his studies. We’ll wordsmith it but I want the key message to be that…”</p><p> </p><p>The argument was done in his father’s eyes and he was now focused on saving face. He didn’t give a damn about what Naruto wanted and was delegating his son’s life to fit his goals.</p><p>Naruto’s blood was like liquid fire. His childhood home had stopped being a home a long time ago. After his mother passed, Minato had thrown all his focus on his political career, leaving Naruto alone in an empty house with only his grief to keep him company. That was why he jumped at the chance to move out after high school. His little apartment, with its terrible water pressure, creaky floorboards, and draft was his home.</p><p>And now his father was trying to take that all away.</p><p>“Naruto, I love you and I admire your,” Minato paused to search for the right word, “free-spiritedness. You got it from your mother but there’s bounds- “</p><p>“Don’t bring mom into this,” Naruto cut him off harshly. “You know she would’ve sided with me here. Honestly it’s no surprise that she never married you.”</p><p>It was a cruel thing to say, but when Naruto was mad, he tended to go nuclear with his words.</p><p>Minato closed his mouth. It was clear that the words hurt him, but in a heartbeat, he hid those feelings behind a stony stare. “I’ll arrange the movers to come tomorrow. In the meantime, I expect you to be home tonight. You may think this cruel, but it’s for your own good.”</p><p>“We both know that putting me back into that hell-hole only benefits you.”</p><p>“Our townhouse is hardly a punishment. You should take a trip across the Peace Line if you really want to see what a hell-hole is,” Minato snapped back. </p><p>Minato turned to his computer. “I expect you at dinner tonight.”  He then started typing, signalling that he was done with the conversation. It was a silent dismissal.</p><p>Naruto, never the one to back down, opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by loud phone alerts. </p><p>It came from all three of their phones. Minato looked at his smartphone laid on his desk and what he saw made the colour drain from his face. Kakashi had a similar expression once he looked at his. </p><p>A flash of red caught the corner of Naruto’s eyes. He didn’t need to take his phone out of his pocket to know what was going on because the breaking news graphic heralded the message loud and clear</p><p>“SOUND NATION CONDUCTS MISSILE TEST ON FIRE WATERS. PM MOVES THREAT LEVEL TO ORANGE.”</p><p>Naruto’s video was replaced by footage from the North showing a powerful ballistic missile shoot up into the sky with a powerful burst of flames at its wake.</p><p>They had all wanted the scandal to blow over, but not like this.</p>
<hr/><p>“Wow, you weren’t kidding, you’re really moving out,” Chouji said.</p><p>Naruto answered with a defeated nod of his head as he continued stuffing clothes in his duffle bag. </p><p>After being ushered out of Parliament Hall, Naruto sent a message to the group chat. When he made it to his apartment building, Chouji, Kiba and Shikamaru were waiting for at the entrance. </p><p>Naruto had really lucked out when his father allowed him to move out for university. It took a lot of begging and pleading. It also included a 50 slide PowerPoint outlying all the pros of Naruto moving away from home. The overall thesis was that greater independence would lead to an improvement in his mental health. </p><p>Even though Naruto was still in the same city, he felt like he was getting a new start. He didn’t have too many friends during his high school years. While some avaricious students tried to get close to him because of his famous father, Naruto had a good bullshit meter and stayed clear of those folks. Also, his pranks had not won him too many favours and what few friends he was able to make moved out of province for university upon graduation. </p><p>Though he would never admit it, part of him was scared that his university experience would be a repeat of high school and that his peers would only view him as a loudmouth idiot who’s only worth was in his connection to the famed Minato Namikaze. </p><p>But then he met Chouji, Kiba and Shikamaru. </p><p>Minato has thought it was important that he be an active participate during Naruto’s move in day, so instead of hiring help, he took the day off work, traded in his standard suit and tie for a t-shirt and jeans and holed boxes with his son. The sentiment warmed Naruto’s heart since alone time with his father had grown to become a rarity. </p><p>It had been a wonderful afternoon. The only downside was that his neighbours got wind that Minster Namikaze was in the facility and after it seemed like every five minutes, the two would have to pause their work so Minato could shake hands, take selfies and schmooze with almost all the occupants on Naruto’s floor. </p><p>Chouji, Kiba, and Shikamaru were the exception. The three had shared the apartment next to Naruto’s and popped out to greet him since it was the neighbourly thing to do. They were polite, but they weren’t in awe over being in Minato’s presence. The trio were more impressed with Naruto’s PS5. Naruto was also 90% sure that Shikamaru was high during that first meeting by the way he lazily shook Minato’s hand. </p><p>Naruto had instantly taken a liking to the three and was excited when they said they too were going to Konoha U. In no time at all, they had become his closest friends. </p><p>“Your dad really must have been mad, huh,” Shikamaru said in a low voice. He had his eyes on the ground and was fidgeting with his hands, a tell-tale sign that he was feeling guilty. “This is all troublesome.”</p><p>Naruto threw a pillow at his head. </p><p>“Don’t be like that, this isn’t anyone’s fault. My dad is just obsessed with pleasing some pea brained dolts in Hicksville who are never gonna like him anyways,” Naruto said with a shrug.  “Besides we had fun right?” Naruto finished with a wink. That made Shikamaru go red and let out a scoff. </p><p>“Hey, might I remind you that I’m from Hicksville,” Kiba said with a raised brow. He had come to the capital to study geography, but he was a country boy through and through. His family owned a massive ranch in the southern plains. He would spend every break herding cattle and would come back with new freckles from being out in the sun all day and about a thousand pictures of Akamaru, his large barn dog. </p><p>“How can we forget, you smell like a farm,” Shikamaru deadpanned. </p><p>“Nah, we already indoctrinated you in the immoral ways of the capital, your one of us now,” Chouji said. </p><p>Naruto took a break from his packing and stood in front of Kiba, “Yeah but we couldn’t really do anything about that brain size though.” He knocked on Kiba’s head. “See, completely hollow.”</p><p>Kiba answered by grabbing Naruto’s hand and giving him a brutal Indian burn that made him both gasp in pain and let out a bark of a laugh. He pulled on Kiba’s ear in retaliation and soon the two devolved in an impromptu wrestling match.  Chouji cheered them on while Shikamaru just shook his head. </p><p>After a couple minutes of fist-a cuffs, the two tired themselves out like a bunch of toddlers. They were both sprawled across the bed. Naruto had Kiba in a head lock, but his grip was loose. At some point, Chouji had opened a bag of chips.</p><p>“Who said you can take my snacks?” Naruto said.</p><p>“If I eat this, it’s one less thing you’ll have to pack,” Chouji said, pointing with a chip.  “In a way, I’m helping you.” He popped the chip in his mouth to emphasize his point. </p><p>Naruto looked at the clothes strung across the room and sighed.  At this point he was avoiding the inevitable. His father had already called his landlord and broken his lease, so Naruto had to move in the next two days. If he could he would have rented the space on his own, but he was as broke… as well as broke as a college student. He recognized that he was extremely privileged to have a father who could finance his education and board, but that meant his life was dictated by someone else’s whims.</p><p>Though Naruto had interned at a few architecture firms throughout his two years of university, they have all been unpaid (a gross practice if you were to ask Naruto). He had no money to his name and there was no way he could afford his apartment on his own unless he could find a way to sell his kidney by tomorrow. </p><p>After stuffing his closet in his bag and leaving his snacks in Chouji’s capable hands, Naruto was ready to go, but before he left, he spent a good 30 minutes walking through his three friends on how to care for the plants Naruto couldn’t take with him. </p><p>Naruto had gotten his green thumb from his father and the townhouse was already filled to the brim with a wild assortment of greenery. This meant there was little room for Naruto’s own collection and so Naruto had to part with his leafy friends with his human ones.</p><p>“Kiba stop picking your nose and listen I don’t want you killing Viola,” Naruto said. Viola was a deep violet moth orchid that just started blooming.</p><p>“I think I know more about growing shit better than you,” Kiba said under his breath. He eyed the plant, “It’s not that complicated. I mean all this baby needs is sunlight and – “</p><p>“Indirect sunlight,” Naruto reiterated. “Give me your phone, I’m going to write you instructions cause you’re going to burn her.”</p><p>Kiba put the plant done and placed a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. His eyes were serious and sympathetic. “Dude relax, I know this is a shitty situation but you’re only moving 20 minutes away so you can come and check on your kids any time and we can go to your abode to make sure you and your pops haven’t killed each other.”</p><p>Naruto felt a smile pull at his lips. Kiba’s crass but kind words always helped to dissipate his neurotic episodes. “For real, you guys are gonna visit?”</p><p>“Of course,” Chouji said.</p><p>“You’re the only one we know who has a PS5, so we have no other choice,” Shikamaru said and Naruto couldn’t help but laugh.</p><p>Just then, Naruto felt a pulse in his pocket. His father had ordered a town car to pick up Naruto and the driver was waiting outside. </p><p>“Well, this is farewell my dudes. Later skaters.” Naruto was never eloquent when it came to goodbyes but hearing Chouji and Kiba’s chocked snickers at his lame word was reward enough. </p><p>They were making their way out of the apartment when Kiba stopped in his track. His stood straight and his eyes widened, looking as if some forgotten information flooded back into his head in a current. </p><p>“Yo, I can’t believe I almost forgot to ask this. Uzumaki, are we still on for paragliding with Ino this weekend?”</p><p>Naruto groaned. He had completely forgotten the commitment he had made to Ino.  Paragliding was a new activity that Kiba and Naruto had picked up for their blonde friend. Before Ino had met the two, she would struggle to find friends who would participate in her love of untraditional sports. She had grown up with Shikamaru, her current boyfriend, and Chouji, both of whom had their own reasons why they hated extreme physical activity. Shikamaru thought sports of any kind were a complete waste of time and Chouji was deadly afraid of heights. Ino would often times would have to go off on her adventures alone but then she met Naruto and Kiba, two dumbasses who were up to try anything. </p><p>Every other weekend Ino would take the two on hiking trips, on new snowboarding trails, and canoeing in the Konoha Great Lakes. For the past few months, her latest fix has been paragliding and this was Naruto’s favourite activity by far.  There was something serene about flying through the air with lush green hills at his feet and only the wind keeping him afloat. </p><p>The only problem was that his father did not know about Naruto’s newfound hobby. He was already on thin ice with the video scandal, so Naruto was sure he would not be that pleased about Naruto participating in an activity that most would view as reckless and dangerous.</p><p>“Your dad can’t control everything about your life,” Kiba said, reading Naruto’s hesitant expression for what it was. </p><p>You’d be surprised, Naruto thought bitterly. “I’ll text you,” he said simply. </p><p>With that, Naruto was out the door.</p>
<hr/><p>The sun was hanging low in the sky when Naruto made it to the house. It was a grand downtown walk up that Minato had inherited from his parents. The Namikazes were one of the most prestigious families in the city and the house emulated the family’s status. Though the house was almost a century old, it’s original whitewashed stone exterior and black garbled roof and accent were expertly preserved. </p><p>Minato greeted him with a tired smile. “Welcome home Naruto.”</p><p> The anger from this afternoon seemed long gone. Now he looked tired but happy to see his son. </p><p>A deep gargled meow came from inside the house and then Kurama, their fat orange cat, made his appearance. He rubbed his body against Naruto’s leg and Naruto couldn’t help but laugh. His cat usually acted like a cankerous old man, but whenever Naruto visited, the cat became a sap. </p><p>“Hey K, I missed you.” </p><p>Kurama had this squished face that made him look perpetually pissed yet adorable at the same time. When Naruto found him at the playground in the sixth grade, he couldn’t leave him behind. He wanted to bend over and give Kurama a pet, but he couldn’t’ with all the stuff in his hands.  </p><p>“He always did like you best,” Minato mused as he looked down at the unusually affectionate feline. “Here let me help you with that,” Minato nodded towards the duffle bag and potted plants in Naruto’s hands. </p><p>Naruto handed the plants to his father and gave Kurama much deserved scratches under his chin. The cat let out a purr of approval. </p><p>The interior was just as the glamorous as the exterior. It was in intricate mix of modern and traditional, shinning black lacquered hardwood that blended seamlessly with glass partitions meant to mimic shoji dividers. </p><p>“Is this a coral cactus?” Minato asked as he admired the pink and cream fan shaped plant. </p><p>“Yeah, I got it at the Annual Home Gardening trade show last month.” When he dragged Kiba to the convention centre he had teased that Naruto must have secretly been a senior citizen, because why else would he have such a quote on quote boring hobby. His point was further proven by the fact that most of the attendance for the show were 50 and above, but even Kiba couldn’t help but be astonished at the different ferns, succulents and all sorts of wild greenery that was featured in the small convention hall. </p><p>“I really missed out, huh?” Minato said solemnly to himself. In the past, the convention had been a yearly tradition for him and Naruto but given that it was always scheduled during the week when annual budgets would be tabled in parliament, since joining cabinet, he hadn’t had the time to go.</p><p>“There’s always next year.”</p><p>Minato answered with a rye smile. They both know that if the SDP was able to pull off another election win there wouldn’t be a next year, but one could always hope. </p><p>“Let’s put this in the kitchen, I think we have some room there.” </p><p>As they moved through the spacious living room the two paused at the soul shelf, a shrine dedicated to lost loved ones. In the middle was a portrait of Kushina, looking radiant with her breath-taking smile and a crimson wave. </p><p>They both bowed, paying their respects. </p><p>“You’re so much like her, and I know she would’ve been proud of you,” Minato said as he straightened up.</p><p>Naruto scoffed. “Please, I’m a mess.” </p><p>Kushina Uzumaki on the other hand had been a wonder. She was a high school teacher by profession, but once the school day was done, she was a community organizer, galvanizing the cities working class and downtrodden to fight for their rights. </p><p>She had actually met Minato while in the midst of her activist activities. Back when Minato was mayor, the city was proposing massive cuts to the schoolboards in an effort to deal with the city’s bulging deficit. In retaliation, Kushina had organized a sit-in in city hall. Her and other union members had completely taken over the building. Kushina had a blowhorn in hand and was loudly calling Minato a corporatist sell-out and told him where he should stick his new budget.</p><p>For Minato, it was love at first sight.</p><p>“You’re 19, you’re supposed to be messy. But all things considered you’re a fine young man who any parent would be proud of. </p><p>“Any,” Naruto said with a raised brow.</p><p>Minto ruffled Naruto’s hair. “I said what I said, now come one, our food’s getting cold. </p><p> On the kitchen island were too big takeaway bowls from Ramen Ichiraku, Naruto’s favourite restaurant. This was an obvious peace offering from his father.</p><p>“I thought I was in trouble?” Naruto said as he slurped some noodles into his mouth. He savoured the taste because in all honesty, there was something otherworldly about Ichiraku’s. </p><p>“I just don’t like how we parted this afternoon.” Minto was swirling his chopstick in his broth, barely eating anything. </p><p>Naruto narrowed his eyes. something was off.</p><p>You see Naruto, had gotten into many many disagreements with his father so he knew what sort of aftermath to expect. After a testy argument like they had this afternoon, Minato would cool off and then feel guilty and try to make amends with Naruto. </p><p>While Minato was sort of following the script, his mind seemed somewhere else and he looked unsettled, like there some beast breathing down his neck.  </p><p>Naruto put bowl down with and leveled his father with a look. </p><p>It took a moment for Minato to realize that his son was giving him a stare down. Once he did, he raised a brow. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Naruto asked.</p><p>Minato shook his head and waved off Naruto’s question. “Nothing’s wrong, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“You know for a politician, you’re a terrible liar,” Naruto shot back. “Dad, you can’t bullshit me. I can tell that something is up so please tell me. Is it because of the video? Did you get into more trouble?”</p><p>Minato let out a small chuckle, but there was little humor in it. “No, it’s not about your video. I don’t even think we’re going to have to make a statement on it because it is definitely going to blow over in the next few days.</p><p>Days? That was odd. Usually Naruto’s news scandals would be in the news cycle for at least a week. </p><p>“Okay then if it’s not that then what the hell is going on? You look like someone told you the world is ending.”</p><p>“You’re not that far off when you think about it,” Minato muttered.</p><p>Naruto sat back in his seat. The Sound Nation’s new missile shot across his mind. “You’re shitting me. Did they actually do it?”</p><p>Orochimaru, the Supreme Lord of the Sound, had been hell bent on one goal since he came into office ten years ago. </p><p>“You know it’s a crime for me to disclosure the information I hear from my foreign affairs briefings. </p><p>“Dad!”</p><p>Minato took a deep breath to steel himself. “The missile they tested was just the tip of the iceberg. We picked up the after math of a nuclear test on our Richter scales. ANBU is certain that the test was a success.” Minato ran a hand through hair and let out a deep sigh. “Tsunade’s going to address the country tomorrow morning.”</p><p>“Holy shit,” Naruto said as he leaned back in his seat in shock.</p><p>“Holy shit indeed.” Minato answered.</p><p>Ever since the Sound Nation broke apart from the Fire Nation 50 years ago after a bloody civil war, the rogue nation had been a perpetual sabre rattler. Their lords would periodically make a big show of testing out their deadly arsenals and proudly broadcasting their military displays to show the world that they were a threat. Initially, the Fire Nation was of course weary of their unstable northern neighbours but resided in the fact that their military capabilities could not even dream to compare to theirs. </p><p>That all changed after Orochimaru swept into power over a decade ago. That happened after the Sound Nation was roundly defeated in the Minute War. The name came from the fact the fact the Fire Nation and its allies were able to halt the Sound’s latest attempt of expansion in 90 days, an embarrassingly short time frame for the Northern nation. </p><p>The Sound Nation’s transformation had been astonishing. As the former head the countries National Defence Research Institution, the countries General Council thought that Orochimaru would be the perfect man to transform their military into a globally feared powerhouse. They were right, but even they couldn’t have predicted how fanatic their new Lord would be in his pursuit for power. He allocated 40% of the country’s GDP into the military budget and would allegedly kidnap physicist and metallurgist from the Rain and Rice nations. If any council member dared to even utter the mildest piece of criticism about Orochimaru’s grand restructuring, they would be sent to the Sound’s infamous re-education camps. </p><p>And now he was reaping the fruits of his labour. Despite a mountain of sanctions, he had gotten the ultimate weapon. </p><p>“So, what happens now?” </p><p>“A successful test doesn’t mean he has a launch ready weapon. They still don’t have the capabilities to develop a nuclear warhead.” Minto placed his hand on top of Naruto’s in reassurance. “We’ re going to fight this with diplomacy. The SDP promised to put an end to the endless wars and we’re not going back down from that promise. We know our sanctions are starving them. You can’t feed people or grow your economy with nuclear ballistic missiles. Sooner or later Orochimaru will have to come to the negotiating table if he wants his young country to survive.”</p><p>Naruto nodded. He was no statesmen, but he knew that a useable nuke was quite the bargaining chip. Kohana’s own formidable arsenal was just one of the many reasons why their it steered the direction of the world. Naruto was sure the Lord of the Sound would starve all of his citizen’ if it meant he could be on equal footing with his sworn enemy.</p><p>“Okay let’s put a break on this depressing episode on nuclear proliferation and go into the equally traumatic topic of your dating life,” Minato said in an attempt to lighten the mood. </p><p>Naruto groaned. “Do we have too?”</p><p>“Yes. Now tell me are you and Shikamaru dating now? Or are you with your blonde friend, now what was her name-Ibo?”</p><p>“Ino.</p><p>“Right. Is she your new girlfriend? Or are you with both? Is this what you kids call a throuple?” I don’t want to get the terms wrong.”</p><p> Naruto couldn’t hold back his laughter. He had to admit, he was a bit nervous when he came out to his father back in high school. Minato had never come across as a hateful person and non-heterosexual orientations have been around in the Land of Fire since its conception, no matter what Danzo tried to push. But still, Minato had come from such a traditional family. While he knew his mother would take the news well if she were alive, a tiny part of Naruto was scared that his father would take after his uppity parents. Plus, it was the first major milestone he was embarking  on without his mother, so while he explained to his father that he liked boys and girls, the entire time he felt like he was swimming in uncharted waters and that at any  moment something from the deep would grab his ankles and plunge him down to the abyss.   </p><p>What happened instead was that Minto embraced Naruto in a fierce hug and said, “I love you and I will always support you no matter what.”</p><p>And he was true to his words. Of course, he never did condone Naruto’s excessive partying, but whenever there was even the slightest bit of possibility that Naruto had gotten a new boyfriend or girlfriend, Minato would ask a billion question in that clueless but wholesomely earnest manner that only fathers seemed able to convey. </p><p>“No dad, Ino and Shikamaru are like soulmates. We were just having fun that’s all.” Naruto shrugged. “It’s nothing serious.”</p><p>“Hmm, it’s just- well, it has been quite a while since you’ve had a relationship.”</p><p>He was right. The last time he went on a proper date was back in freshman year when he was seeing Gaara, an exchange student from Suna who swept into Naruto’s life like a sandstorm. That relationship had crashed and burned in the most brutal of ways leaving Naruto feeling numb to the idea of another relationship. </p><p>“Aren’t fathers supposed to be glad when their kid is single?” Naruto joked in an attempt to stir the conversation away from his pathetic love life.</p><p>“I think my mind would be at peace if you took on the life of a monk, but in all honestly Naruto all I want is for you to be happy.” He let at a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair, a tell-tale sign that he was nervous. “For the past few months I felt like we’ve been drifting and that we’re always mad at each other.</p><p>“I know that you don’t want to move back home, but maybe we can take this opportunity to strengthen our bond. You’re all I got Uzumaki, so I don’t want to lose you.” Minato finished with a meek smile.</p><p>The word’s caused a stillness to take over the kitchen.</p><p>To the world, his father was the brilliant Minister Namikaze, who’s sharp mind and political wit helped guide Kohana to unseen levels prosperity. But right now, Naruto could see that his father was just as broken as he was. For the past two years, he was alone their huge house with nothing but ghost and memories to keep him company. </p><p>It was no wonder why for past few years he focused on his career with increased scrutiny.</p><p>Naruto couldn’t help but feel immense guilt at leaving his father in such solitude. When he graduated high school, he was in a rush to break free of the shackles of the past. He was so focused on moving forward, he didn’t even realize he was leaving his most precious person behind. </p><p>“Dad, with Armageddon at our doorstep, there’s no other place I’d rather be than here with you,” Naruto said with a smile. </p><p>Minato let out bark of a laugh. “Only you can bring up the end of the world to lighten the mood.”</p><p>They moved to the living room. The firelight emanating out of the sleek glass fireplace shrouded the space in a warm orange glow. Kurama had made a home for himself in Naruto’s lap. He scratched the grumpy cat on his head as their conversation drifted to a more lighthearted topic; how their week has been going. On Minato’s side, Tsunade wanted her ministers to draw up a new legislation that included increased sanctions on the Sound and she wanted to present them to Parliament Hall on Monday which only gave her minsters and their aides 48 hours to get everything done. </p><p>“Never mind that she expects us to be at a charity luncheon for K Hospital association tomorrow. Oh, which reminds me, what are your plans this weekend? Tsunade wanted you to come as well.”</p><p>Naruto gave his father a bemused look. “I thought I’d be the last person she’d want to see after the whole video scandal.”</p><p>“She’s your godmother, she always wants to see you. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve all went out as a family so we thought it would be nice.”</p><p>His father had a glimmer of hope in his eye and Naruto would have been a monster to snuff that out. </p><p>“I’m free for lunch, but I’ll have to dip out a little early because I do have plans later in the afternoon.”</p><p>Minato nodded. “That’s fine Naruto. You should make the most of your study break. Are you and your friends doing anything fun?”</p><p>Naruto could have been vague and simply said that he was would be hanging out of the gang, but throughout this whole evening, his father had been honest and vulnerable with him, so it felt wrong not to be forthcoming. Plus, this was the perfect opportunity to tell Minato about his hobby. </p><p>“I’m going paragliding with Ino and Kiba,” Naruto said, getting straight to the point. </p><p>“Para what?”</p><p>“Gliding, it’s something I picked up a couple of months ago and before you freak out, I’m already certified so there’s nothing to worry about.”</p><p>He pulled his freshly attainted intermediate license out and handed it to Minato. As his father looked down at the piece plastic with Naruto in his bright orange flight gear with a big smile, his face was growing paler and paler. </p><p>“Naruto, I have to admit, I’m freaking out.”</p><p>“Dad, it’s not that dangerous. I don’t even go that high. Here I’ll show you.” </p><p>Naruto unlocked his phone and pulled out his Instagram account. Minato did technically follow him on the platform, but Naruto knew that his father account was run by a parliamentary intern. Minato was hopeless when it came to tech and social media. </p><p>He pressed one of his stories and handed the phone his father. “See for yourself.”</p><p>The video was from his latest flight over flower fields of Ueno, the small-town right outside Kohana’s city limits. When Ino had woken him up at 4 am that morning for the trip, he had been grumpy at first. But the lack of sleep he felt was worth the price for such an amazing experience. When they took the flight, the sun was cresting right over pink and red cosmos filled hills, creating a storybook worthy scene. </p><p>“See, the fact that I was able to film such a peaceful video while flying should be proof enough that I know what I’m doing. Plus, I’m with an instructor the entire time.”</p><p>Minato opened and then closed his mouth, looking like he was struggling to find the right words. </p><p>“Statistically, when you look at it, I’m in more danger cycling through these city streets than I am paragliding,” Naruto said in a last attempt to quell his father’s nerves. </p><p>Minato let out a sigh and handed Naruto back his phone. “Naruto, like you said this afternoon, you’re an adult and you don’t have the rationalize your new hobby with me, no matter how heart-attack educing I think it is. If you say it’s safe and that you know what you’re doing I trust you. Just please be careful.”</p><p>Naruto smiled. “I promise I will.” It was at that moment that Kurama unhinged his jaw in an exaggerated yawn. </p><p>Naruto let out a tired laugh, his cat was such a drama queen. “It’s pretty late so I think I’m gonna go to bed.”</p><p>“I should too. I’m going to need all my energy tomorrow because the team and I are going to be up all night tomorrow drafting Tsunade’s new bill.” Minato rubbed his tired eyes. “I’m just going to answer some emails that I know are piling up.”</p><p>“Well good luck and good night.” Naruto said. Minato answered by placing a kiss on Naruto’s forehead. </p><p>But then, as Naruto made his way to the grand staircase with Kurama at his heels, he saw something horrible, something completely unacceptable. </p><p>“Dad,” Naruto called, his voice echoing in the palatial foyer.</p><p>“What, what’s wrong?” Minato said as he rushed into foyer. The distress in Naruto’s voice had erased all signs of fatigue from his face and he moved his head to in for to find the source of offence. </p><p>“How could let Gamakichi get like this?” Naruto said, pointing to the offending bonsai. It sat on top of the cabinet that decorated he foyer. It was over 60 years old and had been in the house longer than Naruto had been alive. One of Naruto’s earliest memories was when he was three. He was on a step stool, looking at the miniature tree in awe as his father explained how taking care of a bonsai was a delicate art.</p><p>“I’ve been working on this little guy since I was in in college.” Minato had said. He pointed at copper wires that roped around the plant’s branches. “And your grandfather worked on this before me you see here. He put these wires in here a long time ago and that’s how the tree got its shape.”</p><p>“Wow,” Naruto had said, in complete awe. “What’s its name?”</p><p>“Its name? Well neither I nor your grandfather thought to give it a name,” Minato had said.</p><p>“That’s dumb. If you love something, it should have a name. That’s why all my toys have names.”</p><p>Minato had laughed at Naruto’s childish scolding. Hr had just started preschool, so he was rightly learned enough to dispense wise words upon his parents. </p><p>“You’re right kiddo. So, what should we name it?”</p><p>Naruto had taken one look at the bright green leaves a name spilled out of his mouth in an instant. “Gamakichi.”</p><p>“Isn’t that that frog from that show that you like so much?” </p><p>Naruto nodded. “It’s perfect.”</p><p>Minato had then guided Naruto’s small hands and showed him how the prune the tree and pointed out which branches to cut in order to keep the tree’s perfect umbrella shape. </p><p>It’s an activity they did together throughout the years but from the way Gamakichi was looking now, it seemed like his father was neglecting his caretaking duties. </p><p> “Oh,” Minato said, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. “I’ve been so busy lately, I forgot to prune him.”</p><p>“Forgot? Dad this is abuse.” Rainforest bonsais were fast growers so if you it did not keep a careful eye them, there branches would shoot up in all direction, making it hard to retain a uniform shape. </p><p>By looks of it, Gamakichi hadn’t been looked at for weeks.</p><p>“Grab some shears old man, we’re fixing this right now.”</p><p>Minato smiled and did what Naruto asked. The two spent the rest of the evening standing over Gamakichi and cutting its overgrown branches and enjoying each other’s company.</p>
<hr/><p>“Well if it isn’t my favourite godson.” Tsunade’s boisterous voice cut through the chatter of the hotel dining hall. “How come you didn’t tell me you were vying for a career in the adult film industry. </p><p>She was surrounded by her entourage of advisors and bodyguards, but with her imposing figure and elegant and sharp dress, she would stand out in any crowd. </p><p>Prime Minister Tsunade Senju was one of the most fascinating women that Naruto had ever met. Though she was a descendant from the Senju political dynasty, she had steered away from politics for the longest time. She dedicated her early adult life to medicine, and founded the Mito Foundation, an NGO that deployed doctors and nurses to the forgotten corners of the world. She travelled the globe, helping the most vulnerable (all the while drinking every man she met under the table according to Jiraiya, Naruto’s godfather). </p><p>She returned to the Fire Nation when the Second Great War with the Sound broke out. She was there on the front lines, serving her country as a field medic and seeing first-hand the horrors and gore caused by war. She developed her political consciousness on the battlefield, but it was the tragic death of her little brother during the Battle of Wave that inspired her to run for office</p><p>She ran to be the next leader of the SDP, the party that her ancestors had founded and had unexpectedly won. </p><p>The rest was history. </p><p>“I’m your only godson granny. Has the dementia finally kicked in?” Naruto shot back. Tsunade laughed and punched Naruto’s arm good naturedly, but with still enough strength to leave a mark. Tsunade was a gym rat and even at 60 years old, Tsunade’s face had few wrinkles. Her plastic surgeon was truly an artist. </p><p>“Prime Minister Tsunade, nice to see you,” Minato greeted Tsunade with a smile and a customary kiss on both cheeks. Even though he knew the woman his whole life, Minato was a square who was brought up to treat his elders with the upmost respect.</p><p>“Aren’t you going to properly greet your great ruler?” Tsunade said with a brow raised up in challenge. </p><p>Naruto cleared his throat in an exaggerated manner and then said, “Sup.”</p><p>That made Tsunade grab Naruto in an embrace that was practically a headlock.</p><p>“You literally cost me like 20 seats in the rural belt. The least you could do is give your god mother a proper hello.” </p><p>Naruto scrunched his face as Tsunade placed an exaggerated kiss on his cheek. He felt the hot flash of a camera. </p><p>Tsunade’s favourite past time was finding ways to embarrass Naruto. </p><p>Naruto was surprised that she was in a joking mood though. From the way Minato reacted the beginning of the yesterday, he made it seem like Tsunade was breathing down his neck like mythic beast of rage. </p><p>“I thought you’d be madder at me,” Naruto said.</p><p>“Oh, trust me, she was,” Shizune, her chief of staff, said. </p><p>“Yeah, but haven’t you heard? It’s the end of the world.” She grabbed a float of champagne from a passing by server without missing a beat. “I got bigger things to deal with than your sexual escapades. Just promise me you don’t have a legit sex tape in the pipeline. I can only deal with so many fires at once.”</p><p>“Noted. I’ll make sure to hold off on that until after election day</p><p>“Shall we get to our seats?” Minato’s smile grew a little placid.  He never could understand why Tsunade and Naruto showed their affection by shooting crass words at each other. </p><p>“Oh,” Tsunade said. “Did I forget to tell you?”</p><p>“Tell me what.”</p><p>“In the nature of by-partisanship, the organizers thought it would be a great idea for us to sit with our sworn enemies, so I get to spend the afternoon with our lovely opposition leader.” Tsunade finished the entire glass of champagne in one impressive gulp. “Lord help me.”</p><p>Naruto grimaced in pity for Tsunade’s plight. Spending a mere breath of a moment with Danzo was punishment enough. Minato would obviously be placed in a seat with Konoe, the shadow finance minister. The man was ancient and would properly spend the first half talking about the merits of trickle-down economics and then the other half napping. </p><p>Please lord, don’t let me sit next to a ghoul,” Naruto thought in silent prayer as he made his way to his assigned seating.</p><p>But the gods were not Naruto’s side. </p><p>“Oh joy, I get to sit next to Kohana’s tabloid darling. I’m happy that you decided to keep your clothes on today, semi-formal is a good look on you,” Toshi said with a condescending smile over the rim of his champagne glass. With his donegal tweed blazer and bright red bow tie, he looked like a weatherman from the 1950s.</p><p>Unlike Tsunade, there was not a hint of jest in Toshi’s words. Every remark was meant to get under Naruto’s skin and unfortunately, Toshi was successful in this task, not because he was clever but because Naruto found the man’s mere presence so unpleasant that all he had to do was sit there with that bowtie and stupid smile on his face and that was all it took to make Naruto want to throw hands.</p><p>“Did you spend all morning thinking about that opener? Not your best material,” Naruto shot back.</p><p>“As if I’d spend that long thinking about you.”</p><p>“But you do think of me though. That’s so sad. I’m living in your mind rent free,” Naruto said with a condescending smile of his own.</p><p>Toshi’s face curdled like sour milk, he opened his mouth to spew his own retort but luckily the other occupants at their table showed up. Toshi moved his attention to charming them, but he would still throw hate filled glances Naruto’s way. </p><p>Naruto had honestly no idea why the man was so fixated on getting him mad. He must’ve had some deep seeded issues, but given who his father was, that was no surprise. </p><p>It was quite a feat that Naruto made it through the luncheon with no incident, well almost no incident. After president of the hospital the association made his customary speech, thanking the participants for all the money raised, some of the guest took that as their que to mingle. Naruto wanted to get the hell out of dodge, but, Haku, a local activist that Naruto met during his first year of studies, came over to their table to say hi.</p><p>His kept his brown hair long and preferred to wear flowy robes that couldn’t fit neatly into any gender stereotype. Toshi was clearly uncomfortable with the man’s androgynous appearance and did nothing to hide it. Haku, ever the peace maker, was polite the entire time and focused his attention on Naruto. </p><p>Naruto initially wanted to take the higher ground and ignore Toshi as well, but as Haku said his goodbyes and walked away he heard the man say a disparaging comment under his breath. </p><p>“What a fucking freak.”</p><p>“Excuse me?” Naruto said turning at the words, his eyes a blaze.</p><p>Toshi stood a little straighter in his seat, revealing in the fact that he got a reaction out of Naruto. “You heard what I said. It’s people like your friend who are turning this country into a laughingstock.”</p><p>“Do you like being an asshole? Is it like your kink or something?”</p><p>One of the socialites at their table (Naruto could not nor wanted to remember her name) gasped at the insult, as if curse words were more offensive than discrimination.”</p><p>“The fact that you resort to insults instead of debating like an adult shows that I’m in the right.”</p><p>“My apologies, I just don’t think common decency is something we’d have to debate about”</p><p>“There’s a difference between common decency and depravity, but of course I can’t expect you of all people to know that.” Toshi smiled at Naruto like he was simple. </p><p>Naruto was a millisecond away from punching Toshi in the face, so he took a deep breath to centre himself. </p><p>“You know you’re right,” Naruto said, shooting the man an empty smile and got up from his seat, champagne glass in hand. “My dumb whore brain obviously can’t grasp that nuance.”</p><p>He then emptied the rest of his drink in Toshi’s lap.</p><p>“Opps.”</p><p>“What the fuck?” Toshi shot out of his seat in indignation. </p><p>“Sorry,” Naruto said with a fake little laugh. “It’s just this darn pea brain of mine. I mistook your crotch for my mouth. Honest mistake.”</p><p> “You fucking did that on purpose,” Toshi fumed. He moved to get right into Naruto’s face revving up for a fight but froze once he heard a familiar voice. </p><p>“I see you boys are having a fun time,” Danzo said.</p><p>He moved with a cane due to an injury he sustained during the Second War, but even with the limp, the man had a stately air to him (not that Naruto would ever admit to that out loud).</p><p>“Father,” Toshi said. The anger seemed to have dissipated a bit from the man and now he looked like a soldier, waiting for orders. </p><p>“There’s no need to get worked up over matter’s like this son, “Danzo said with a smile and a simple wave of his hand. He was much better at hiding insults than his son. “I’m sure Naruto did not mean to cause a raucous.”</p><p>“But father-” Danzo raised his hand and Toshi shut his mouth almost automatically. </p><p>“Is everything okay here?” It was Minato. He must have saw Danzo make his way to Naruto’s table and thought it best to check up on his son. He raised a brow in question when he saw the mess on Toshi’s pants. </p><p>“Oh, just boys being boys. You certainly have a lively don Minato,” Danzo smiled politely. “Even when they’re grown, they can be quite the handful.”</p><p>“That may be true, but I’ve always said it’s better to raise them to have a free mind, better for them to be people as oppose to puppets, right?” Minato answered with a tight smile of his own.</p><p>The air was heavy with tension as the two politicians eyed each other. </p><p>Danzo broke the stare down with a laugh. “Sound advice. I see that it’s working for you splendidly with your son,” he turned his eyes towards Naruto. They were devoid of any warmth. “I hope you and your father enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”</p><p>With that, Danzo made his exit. Toshi shot Naruto a parting glare and rushed towards the bathroom. </p><p>“I feel like I need to take a shower after talking to that man,” Naruto said with a grimace, once the Shimuras were out of earshot. </p><p>“At least you don’t have to work with the man five days out of the week. It’s been years and I still haven’t built up a tolerance.</p><p>“But you know, I’m proud of you for keeping your composure for the most part. The champagne spill was a little petty, but I won’t hold that against you since I’m sure the boy said something deplorable.”</p><p>“Does this mean I’m free to go?”</p><p>Minato smiled, and rummaged in the pockets of his slack. He pulled out the keys to his SUV.</p><p>“I still don’t understand this terrifying new hobby of yours but please stay safe and have fun.”</p><p>Naruto face brighten with a smile, a real smile. He plucked the keys from his father’s hands.</p>
<hr/><p>After driving home to grab his gear and quickly change out of his pressed button down and slacks and into appropriate athletic wear, Naruto headed for the valley at the bed of the Hashimara Mountain Range. </p><p>As Naruto drove up the gravel road, he spotted the other gliders who would be riding the wind with him today. Their bright colored coveralls made them easy to spot against the rolling green hills. </p><p>“Naruto,” Ino ran when saw Naruto and the practically tackled him as she gave him a hug in greeting.</p><p>“Woah,” Naruto said as he tried to keep his balance and hug his friend at the same time. “I told y’all I’d come.”</p><p>“Yeah, but your dad seemed so mad by the way you were talking on the group chat yesterday, so we weren’t sure.” Ino answered. Her long, ponytail was dancing in the wind. </p><p>Coming from Ino, the concern was warranted. Ino came from a very bohemian family who have operated the local Yama flower shop for generations. Instead of being angry at seeing their daughter in a salacious video, the commended her for being open to nonconformist expressions of “love”.</p><p>The group chat had a field day with that line.  </p><p>“My father may not be a hippie, but he eventually cooled down.” Naruto answered with a smile. That made Ino let out a snot of a laugh. </p><p>“Come on blondies! We’re going to be starting soon,” Kiba a called down from a higher vantage point.</p><p>“Shit, guess I gotta hurry.” Naruto pulled his pack from the trunk of the car and zipped up his bright orange coveralls. Kiba had joked that Naruto’s paragliding attire made him look like a convict participating at the X Games but his friend’s teasing would not stop him from wearing his favourite colour.</p><p>The two rushed to get to the spot. With the added weight of her pack, running made Ino a little out of breath. She tried to hide her panting once they reached the crest and gave Naruto a playfully reproachful look because he on the other hand was fine. Teenage years of sports had blessed him with what his friends called a “freakish” stamina.</p><p>From their height they could truly appreciate what a beautiful day it was. The valley was a vision of emerald green peaks and slopes. A forest of Konoha Redwoods encircled the valley and the Hashimara Mountain rang was a breathtaking backdrop with its snowy peaks piercing the cobalt blue sky.</p><p>“Alright folks,” Genma, their instructor, called out. “Given that we have such perfect conditions today I think you’re already for the next level. Today we are doing turns.”</p><p>Naruto couldn’t hide his excitement. So far, they’ve only been allowed to fly in a straight line and follow the direction of the wind. They were now moving to the advanced stage, meaning that they were going to use their pulls and brakes to manipulate the currents to stay in the air longer and to have more control of where they go.</p><p>They were a group of six and their instructor only allowed groups of three to fly at a time so Naruto shot a quick prayer to the gods, hoping that he would be part of the first group to take the skies.</p><p>“So up first I’ll take Yamanaka,” he pointed at Ino who whooped in response.</p><p>“Kento,” He pointed at an older gentleman.</p><p>“Uzumaki.” Naruto pumped his fist in the air.</p><p>“This is rigged, I never get picked first,” Kiba grumbled. He had a comical pout on his face that made Ino laugh.</p><p>“Aww don’t be such a baby, it’s only a 30-minute wait,” Ino said as she pinched Kiba’s cheeks.</p><p>Kiba sat down on the grass in a hoof and Ino and Naruto followed Gemma to a higher hill that would act as their launch site.</p><p>“Alright guys here’s your headsets. I want your eyes and ears focused on me the entire time You guys aren’t pros yet so, your gonna have to follow my lead. Got it?”</p><p>“Got it!” They said in unison like good soldiers.</p><p>Naruto clipped the little black earpiece in his ear. He then brushed his flowing hair out of his face as he dawned his helmet. </p><p>Kento went first. He ran down the hill with his bright red shoot and the wind caught the fabric in a snap and in a mere heartbeat he was up in the air.</p><p>Ino was next and her launch was just as flawless. </p><p>Naruto followed suit. He only had to run a few paces and then like magic the wind caught his green chute and he was in the air.</p><p>That first moment of flight, when your heart jumps in your throat and when you feel your body go weightless, free of doubt and gravity, feels better than any drug in the world.</p><p>In that brief, glorious moment, Naruto forgets that he’s a disappointment to his father. He doesn’t think about how the gods were cruel for taking his mother instead of him. All those heavy, dark thoughts are gone and instead all he hears is the wind and it gives him a deep peace he has been craving for so long.</p><p>“Alright gang were gonna do a right turn now, follow my lead.” Genma’s static voice called in his ear. He had just launched but, being the pro that he was, he was already elevated to his student’s altitude.</p><p>Naruto followed Genma’s instructions and pulled on his right line. This caused his chute to steer to the right, just like he wanted. </p><p>“Good job Naruto, that’s how you do it!” Genma called out. </p><p>Naruto smiled. He followed the rest of Genma’s instructions to a T and now he was zig zagging across the sky like a natural.</p><p>It was amazing how fast things turned to shit. </p><p>Though the weather that day was supposed to be sunny with periodic clouds, out of nowhere the group could see a wall of cumulonimbus clouds forming in the south. All of a sudden, the wind started picking up, making it harder for Naruto to control his lines. </p><p>“Okay guys,” Genma said. “Looks like we have some unexpected crappy weather heading our way, but I want you to remain calm. We’re all going to land, just like you guys practices.”</p><p>Landing was not an instantaneous event.  You had to descend gradually because if not you could end up breaking multiple limbs upon landing or even worse dead. </p><p>In the distance, Naruto saw Kento make a hard landing. Naruto prayed that he was okay </p><p>The wind was stronger now and Naruto couldn’t get control of his lines. When he turned towards the clouds again to see what was coming their way, he felt his heart stop.</p><p>The tell-tale shape of a twister was barrelling towards them. </p><p>“Stay calm guys. You see we’re almost in the clear I can see you both and you’re just a couple of seconds away from the ground.”</p><p>Ino landed tangled in her chute. It was far from the usual grace she showed in the sport, but with your life on the line, technique was the last thing you think about.</p><p>“Okay Naruto, it’s just you and me,” Genma said.  He needed to raise his voice in order to be heard over the howling winds. “Just focus on one flat spot and we’re going to land together.”</p><p>“Okay!” Naruto called out. He focused on a grassy flat plain and glided towards the target.</p><p>Genma landed on his right and Naruto was a second away from joining him when a sudden burst of wind caught his chute and sent Naruto back in the air.</p><p>“Fuck!” Genma cursed. “Naruto you have to get back in control!”</p><p>“I’m trying!” Naruto pulled on his lines with all the strength he could muster, but it was like he was trying to pull down a mountain.</p><p>The wild wind kept taking Naruto higher and higher. He couldn’t see the shape of the twister anymore and then the haunting realization hit him. He was inside of it.</p><p>He was completely helpless as he was hurled and spun around by the storm winds. He couldn’t even scream because funnelling winds sucked all the air out of his lungs. His felt his vision grow blurry. He was losing oxygen. </p><p>Naruto lost consciousness after a few seconds. In a way, it was for the best because when the tempest ended, he did not want to be awake for the deadly fall he would have to face.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Crash Landing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After the luncheon, Minato and the rest of the minsters hauled back to Parliament Hall to work on Tsunade’s new bill. His team had hunkered down in their office. There were sitting around the board room, the table littered with draft documents and copious amounts of caffeine and the artisan doughnuts. </p><p>“We have to put more safeguards against Sound wire transfers,” Minato said, circling a paragraph in red pen.” He handed the draft back to Kakashi. </p><p>“The banks are not going to like that,” Kakashi answered. </p><p>“Orochimaru has been able to move funds right under their noses, so they’re going to have to get used to more scrutiny.” Minato said, taking a sip from his fifth cup of coffee.</p><p>He then saw, Mei, his secretary, knocking on the glass window. The woman looked like she was ready to throw-up. He waved her in. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Minato asked. </p><p> “There some policemen downstairs who wanted to see you,” Mei said in a carefully level tone.</p><p>Minato felt his heart stop.</p><p>“Did they tell you what they wanted?” </p><p>Mei shook her head. “No sir, they just said they needed to speak to you.”</p><p>“Maybe Naruto got arrested again?” Rin suggested. Minato knew that she was trying to spell his nerves, last time Naruto got arrested he got a call from the station. something in Minato’s bones told him something was wrong. </p><p>He had that feeling once before, on the worst day of his life. And now Minato was scared to death that history was repeating itself. </p><p>There were two police officers were standing in the lobby, each with a grim expression on their face. </p><p>They did a customary bow once they caught sight of Minato. They introduced themselves, but he didn’t even register their names because Minato’s mind was solely focus on fortifying itself for the terrible news to come. </p><p>“Sir, I’m sorry but there’s been an accident,” one of the officers finally said.</p><p>Even though Minato knew the words were coming, he still felt his world break in two. He couldn’t help but be reminded of the last time he felt like this. </p><p>The day started out normal enough. It was in the heat of summer. Naruto, then 11, was excited about a new exhibition opening at Kohana’s Natural History Museum. It had something to do with the frogs of the rainforest. He had Kushina had planned to both take Naruto to the event, but of course work had decided otherwise. The new budget proposal that his council men had brought forth for his signature had been filled with gaping holes, so instead of having a wonderful day out with the ones he loved the most, he had to spend the next eight hours in his home office. </p><p>“But you promised you’d come,” Naruto had said, his arms crossed with a big pout on his face.</p><p>“He’s right, you shouldn’t go back on your promises dear,” Kushina had said teasingly, though there was a smidge of truth sprinkled in.</p><p>Minato had put down his pen and gave the two a remorseful look. “I’m really sorry guys, my hands are tied, and this has to be finished for Monday.”</p><p>Naruto had opened up his mouth but then Kushina placed a hand on his little shoulder which seemed to quell the argumentative words that were about to flow. </p><p>“Your dad has a lot of people depending on him Naruto. It’s just the way it is.”</p><p>“I know it’s just,” the boy let out a big sigh. “Forget it.”</p><p>“I’m really sorry Naruto.” Minato gave his son a small smile. “You know I love you right?</p><p>“Yeah,” Naruto grumbled. “I know.”</p><p>“All right,” Kushina said, clapping her hands to break the tension. “Enough of this sad stuff. Naruto go change out of those PJs and meet downstairs in 10 minutes. You’re in for a fun filled day with your mama.</p><p>Once Naruto left the office, Minato had sighed. “He hates me” </p><p>“Oh, don’t be dramatic. He just wants to spend more time with you.</p><p>Kushina moved to stand behind his chair and then bent down to wrap her arms around his neck in a tender embrace. Her head was resting on his shoulder and the smell of the lavender lotion she loved to use filled his senses.</p><p> “I know being mayor is tough, but you should try to carve out a little more time for your son while you still have the chance. Soon, he’s going to be a teenager and want nothing to do with us.” She placed a kiss on his cheek.</p><p>Minato turned to face her.  She smiled her famous dimpled smile and her big eyes shinned with unadulterated adoration. Even after years together, her beauty always set a fire in his heart and he thanked the gods for blessing him with the most perfect partner. </p><p>“We’ll all go to Ichiraku’s for dinner once you guys get back.” He placed a chaste kiss on the side of her mouth. </p><p>“Are you bribing your family with ramen? You know it’s our greatest weakness.” She returned the kiss. </p><p>Her kiss had a lot more fire in it, but before things could go any further Naruto’s loud voice bounced off the house walls. </p><p>“Mom, where’s my Gamakichi shirt!”</p><p>Kushina pulled away and rested her forehead on his. </p><p>“Sorry Mr.Mayor, duty calls.” She gave him one more kiss. “See you later.”</p><p>About four hours after they left for the museum, Minato got a call. He looked at the landline annoyed. He told his staff not to disturb him since the budget warranted all his attention. He would have let the call go to voicemail, but when he sees through the caller id that it was Kakashi, he thought better of it. His young staffer would not be calling him unless is was super important. </p><p>Minato picked up the phone. </p><p>“This had better be good Kakashi- “</p><p>“There’s been a bomb attack,” Kakashi had said, cutting him off. “Turn on the news.”</p><p>“What,” Minato said, his heart was beating through his chest.  He flicked on the TV and was met with a scene of chaos, but he felt his blood run cold once he recognized the street on the scene. </p><p>“It was at the nature museum. We need you at city hall for a statement, I sent over a car with security detail to pick you-” Minato hung up. </p><p>He didn’t need to be at city hall, where he needed to be was at the attack site. He needed to make sure his family was okay, that they were still alive. </p><p>As Minato grabbed his key and dashed for the door, he prayed to the gods that Kushina and Naruto weren’t at the museum. He hoped that they finished their trip quickly and that they went to the ice cream parlour down the street like they usually did when there were in that part of the city. </p><p>Those hopes were dashed when Minato opened the door to leave and was met with two police officers, one of them whose hands were raised to knock. </p><p>“Mr. Mayor,” one of the officers had said. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to come with us. It’s your family.”</p><p>Minato joined the other families at the hollowed out remains of the museum, waiting with fated breath as rescue operators pulled body after body out of the rumble. Those hours still haunted his dreams.</p><p>From yards away Minato could still make out Kushina’s brilliant red hair as the rescuers pulled her lifeless body to the surface. Minato ran to the barricade to get closer but when he saw the medics put a white sheet over her body he fell to his knees and let out a guttural scream. He felt his life crumble right then and there. </p><p>“We got another kid! Get me some oxygen!” A fireman called.</p><p>Minato looked up and saw Naruto’s body in the fireman arms. His face was bloody and unconscious body was covered in debris. </p><p>“That’s my son!” Minato yelled. The sight of Naruto brought him back to life. He vaulted over the metal barricade, ignoring the calls of the policemen holding back the crowd.</p><p>As Minato drew closer, he could see Naruto’s birdlike chest moving up and down as he lay on the gurney with an oxygen mask on his bloody stained face. </p><p>Tears streamed down Minato’s face in rivers. The gods have decided to spare him one miracle. </p><p>They later told Minato that it was Kushina who saved Naruto that day. The moment the suicide bomb went off on the floor above them, Kushina grabbed Naruto and used her body to shield him from the falling debris. Naruto left the attack with a concussion and three smile scars on each cheek, which he got from an exploding display case.</p><p>But the gods were cruel for taking Kushina from them. They had both lost the love of their lives and have been trying to live with the trauma from that day for years.</p><p>Minato wasn’t sure he could survive going through that type of horror a second time. </p><p>“Sir,” Kakashi said, pulling Minato away from his thoughts. “We’re here.”</p><p>A tent was enacted at the foot of the valley, acting as the headquarters of the rescue mission. As Minato made his way there, he passed an ambulance. He recognized Ino, on of Naruto’s friend, sitting on a gurney with a sling in her arm and crying into Kiba’s shoulder. </p><p>He couldn’t stop for them because all that was going through his mind was Naruto, Naruto, Naruto. </p><p>When they made it to the tent, he saw of group park rangers and policemen huddled over a map, with their phones at their ears. There were a couple red x’s dotting the sheet. </p><p>“Minster Namikaze,” an older ranger, probably the leader, said. Everyone in the room bowed but Minato waved an inpatient hand at the formalities. They did not have time for that. </p><p>“Please give me an update. Are you any closer to finding my boy?” </p><p>“Minster Namikaze, you have the full force of the park rangers and the KPD searching for your son. I have squads scouring the Redwoods with search dogs as we speak. </p><p>“Did you have any leads, any clues?” Minato asked, desperate for any information.</p><p>The ranger shook his head. “Twisters are unpredictable beasts sir, so we don’t know which way the wind carried your son and the forests in this area notoriously dense. But I have every available man on the ground searching. “</p><p>“Kakashi, call Tsunade and tell her that we need reservists here right now. We need more boots on the ground”</p><p>Kakashi nodded. </p><p>Minato had then joined of the search teams. He walked the towering Redwoods, screaming Naruto’s name until his voice grew hoarse.</p><p>After four hours of calling Naruto’s name and hearing nothing but the birds answer him Minato broke. </p><p>“Fuck!” he yelled as punched the thick the trunk of a redwood. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” </p><p>Who was he kidding? The chances of someone surviving being sucked in a damn tornado and falling hundreds of meters from the sky were close to zero. </p><p>Minato’s breath hitched and he felt angry hot tears stream down his face. He had lost the one good thing left in his life; he was sure of it. </p><p>“Sir,” Kakashi said. When he didn’t get an answer, he tried again. </p><p>“Minato, you have to pull yourself together.”</p><p>“He’s dead Kakashi, my boy is dead.”</p><p>“We don’t know that for sure and if there’s even the slightest chance that he’s alive, we need to focus on searching, Tantrums won’t help him now.”</p><p>Minato nodded. He looked down at his hands. His knuckles were bloody, but the pain from his splintered skin was nothing compared to the hurt in his heart. </p><p>But Kakashi was right. He needed to focus on finding his son. Dead or alive he needed to see his boy one more time.</p>
<hr/><p>Naruto opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. Everything hurt and the daylight seemed to have increased his debilitating headache tenfold. </p><p>The twister must have dropped him in the Redwoods that encompassed the valley and a tree broke his fall. his green chute was caught in the branches of a redwood, suspending him in a makeshift swing.</p><p>He felt the side of his helmet and felt a huge crack. He must have hit his head pretty hard against the thick trunk on his descend. He was sure he would have died from a fractured skull if he didn’t have his helmet. </p><p>Naruto throw off the broken helmet, which thudded on the forest floor. He then tapped the side of his head to activate his headset.</p><p>“Genma,” he said, but was met with nothing but static. “Genma. Guys? This is Naruto, I’m stuck in a tree can you guys hear me?”</p><p>More static.</p><p>Naruto sighed. The headset must have gotten messed up during the storm. He felt for his pockets and pulled out his phone, thanking the gods for zippers.</p><p>There was giant crack on the middle of the screen, but it was sill functional. He unlocked it but was shocked to see that there was no service. He was supposed to have coverage country wide. </p><p>It didn’t matter though, he knew that you didn’t need cell service to call 911, so Naruto took off his gloves and dialed the number</p><p>Shockingly the call failed to go through. </p><p>“Urgh what the hell?” He said to himself. He made a mental note to himself to get a new cellphone carrier once he got back home.</p><p>Naruto looked down. He’d gotten caught by one of the lower branches on the tree, but it was still a pretty far from the ground. It would risky trying to get down, especially since he was sure he had a concussion, so he’s only option was to hang tight and wait for a rescue crew. </p><p>Knowing his father, Naruto was sure he found a way to get the military involved in his rescue. He wished his phone worked so he could call his dad to let him know he was fine. The man had already been through enough tragedy to last a lifetime and Naruto did not want to add anymore anguish to it. </p><p>“Hello! Is anybody out there? Can anybody hear me!” Naruto called out. He felt drowsy and wanted to go to sleep, but he kept calling out. He didn’t know how much time had passed since the storm, but there just had to be some rescuers near-by. </p><p>He paused when he heard some russling. He looked down and saw a small doe poking around the foliage.</p><p>“Oh, hey little guy, are you my rescuer?”</p><p>The deer’s head shot up at some noise and dashed away. Naruto surveyed the area and saw a tall soldier stepping through the trees, his gun drawn. </p><p>“Oh, gods yes!” Naruto said once he caught sight of the man in head to toe camo. His father really did dispatch the military to find him. “Hi, I’m over here hello!”  He waved his arms to get the man’s attention </p><p>The soldier said nothing. He had a perfect poker face.</p><p>“I’m so happy to see you,” Naruto said with a smile, but when the soldier stepped closer, he got a good look at the emblem patched on his helmet and shoulder and Naruto’s smile fell. </p><p>He recognized the notorious Sound nation crest. </p><p>“Oh, wait don’t come any closer,” Naruto said frantically. </p><p>The soldier ignored him and said in a deep voice, “Get down.”</p><p>“I can’t, I’m too high up” Naruto shot back.</p><p>The man clocked his gun.</p><p>“Okay, okay geez take it easy now, I’m coming down!” Naruto frantically worked to lose his harness but was unprepared when gravity pushed him out of his makeshift swing. </p><p>He yelled, but instead of hitting the ground, the soldier broke his fall. They were both on the ground; Naruto was on his chest and his face was inches away from the other man’s. </p><p>The soldier’s eyes were dark and endless, but Naruto did not have too much time to admire them because he felt a pistol at his side. </p><p>“Get off,” the soldier grunted. </p><p>“Shit sorry!” Naruto said, getting up.</p><p>Before he could get his bearings, the man was pointing the gun at him again. </p><p>“State your name and occupation.”</p><p>“Umm, well I’m a student and,” he paused. “Well I really don’t feel comfortable sharing my name.”</p><p>“Answer the question.”</p><p>“Look,” Naruto his hands in a placating matter. “I know you are very nervous right now, but there’s no need to be violent. You’re safe now.”</p><p>The solider scrunched up his brows in confusion. “What the fuck are you talking about?”</p><p>“Defecting must have been super difficult, but let me be the first to say, welcome to the Fire nation. Now lower your gun, and I can help you get to civilization.”</p><p>The soldier paused, looking at Naruto as if he was speaking in tongues. “Are you dumb?”</p><p>That made Naruto bristle, “Don’t call me dumb, you obviously are defecting Northerner, I hear about you guys all the time in the news.”</p><p>“Look idiot, I didn’t come to the South, you’re in the North.”</p><p>There was a second of silence that was only filled with the chirping of birds. Then Naruto laughed. </p><p>“Don’t fuck with me,” he said through his laughter. When the soldier didn’t say anything, Naruto felt the colour drain from his face. “Tell me you’re joking!” </p><p>“Why the fuck would I joke with and intruding Fire combatant?” The soldier deadpanned.</p><p>“Combatant?”</p><p>“Any Fire Nation citizen that trespasses on Sound land is considered a combatant.”</p><p>“No, this is just a big misunderstanding! Look!” Naruto pointed at the tree. “I came here by accident. I was paragliding and then there was this sudden windstorm and I got sucked up in a tornado. </p><p>“I mean look at me,” Naruto said, pointing at his orange jump suit. “Do I look like a special operative? I swear on my life I came here by mistake!”  </p><p>The soldier surveyed Naruto up and down. “You’re right, there’s no way you’re a soldier.”</p><p>He then put his gun back in his holster and Naruto let out a sigh of relief. </p><p>“But I’m still going to have to take you to the Security Bureau for questioning,” the Soldier finished. </p><p>“What! Why?”</p><p>“That’s the rules. Any Fire Nation citizen who crosses the border needs to be interrogated. </p><p>“No, you can’t take me there! They’re gonna to send me to one of those prison camps!”</p><p>“No, they won’t.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” Naruto pressed. </p><p>“Like 90% sure.”</p><p>“Oh, please just let me go,” Naruto begged. “I can make it back the the Fire Nation on my own. I was on the track team in high school so I’m a super-fast runner.”</p><p>“I can’t let you go,” the soldier argued.</p><p>“I’m gonna go,” Naruto said, and then sprinted past the man.</p><p>“Wait, you can’t just run blindly you moron there’s mines!” The soldier called after him. </p><p>Naruto had just stepped in a flowing creek but turned at the man’s words. “Mines?”</p><p>“Yeah, the Peace Line is riddled with land mines. Look in front of you right now.” Naruto looked down and saw a greenish grey rectangle hidden amongst the rocks.</p><p>“You step on that and you’re dead.” The soldier took cautious steps towards him. “A regular civilian can’t get through this forest and to the border with an expert guiding- “</p><p>The soldier got cut off by a clicking sound. Both parties looked down and saw that the man’s big combat boots were on top of something greenish grey.</p><p>“I thought you were an expert.” Naruto said. He carefully moved closer to the soldier.</p><p>“Shut up.” Naruto could have sworn an angry flush was splayed over the man’s sharp cheeks. The soldier took out the walkie talkie and said. “Hawk to squad I’m one kilometer south of-”</p><p>The soldier’s footing was awkward and when he tried to regain his balance the walkie talkie slipped from his hands and fell into the creek. </p><p>Naruto reached and pulled it out. The person on the other side was asking for the soldier’s location. Naruto turned it off.</p><p>“Uh-uh. You shouldn’t have been such a bastard to me earlier. Now it looks like our favours have reversed. </p><p>The soldier scowled.</p><p>“Look,” Naruto said. “I’m not heartless, you obviously need help and I obviously want to go home. So, let’s help each other out. I’ll give you your walkie talkie back if you tell me how to get back to the South. </p><p>For a second it looked like the soldier was going to say no. But the man kissed his teeth and said, “Turn right and keep running. Make sure to keep your eyes on the ground for mines. You’re going to reach a forked road. Turn right again and then you should reach the South.”</p><p>Naruto bowed. “Thank you, kind sir.” </p><p>“You said that you were going to give me my walkie talkie,” the man sneered. </p><p>“I am, I’m just buying time geez.” Naruto shot back, once he cleared the creek he turned back to the man. </p><p>Even with the scowl on his face, with his sharp features, flawless pale skin and deep dark eyes, the man was extremely handsome. </p><p>Maybe it was concussion speaking, but Naruto couldn’t help but open his mouth.</p><p>“You know, it’s sad that you’re a Sound soldier because you’re totally my type.” Naruto teased.</p><p>“What does that have to do with anything?” The soldier grumbled. </p><p>“Nothing, just an observation. I’m going to throw this back to you now, but you got to promise not to call your men in until after I’m out of sight, got it?”</p><p>The soldier nodded. </p><p>Naruto threw the walkie talkie and the soldier easily caught it with his long arms. He then turned it on and said, “Hawk to squad, I have an intruder one kilometre south of headquarters, requesting back up.”</p><p>“You damn bastard!” Naruto said as he dashed away.</p><p>He was running for about 15 minutes when he reached the aforementioned frocked road. He was about to take the right, but then paused. </p><p>That soldier was not the most trustworthy of fellows and he seemed hell bent on taking him in for questioning. Why would he tell Naruto the way back to the south? </p><p>“I’m not going to let that bastard trick me,” Naruto said. He then took the left. </p><p>After running for what seemed to be an eternity, he reached a field. He was so tired, and his head felt like it was being drilled by a jackhammer, but he couldn;t see any indication that he was near the border. How much farther could it be?</p><p>It was then when Naruto felt a bullet whip above his head. </p><p>That shook him from his stupor. Looking across the field, he could see a soldier with a riffle drawn.</p><p>“Shit!” Naruto started running again, the bullets were flying too close to comfort and Naruto felt one graze his thigh but even though he felt a searing pain running down his leg, Naruto kept running. </p><p>The bullets seemed to have stopped. Naruto turned and saw another soldier. He had a hand on the muzzle of the soldier’s riffle and made the gun point towards the sky. None of the soldiers attempted to chase after Naruto. </p><p>Naruto continued running until found a spars assortment of trees. He took a moment to rest against the trunk of an oak.</p><p>Looking down at his leg, he saw that his orange pant leg was stained with blood. He unzipped his suit and tied it around his gunshot wound in a makeshift gauze. </p><p>The sun was starting to set, and Naruto was growing chilly in his thin athletic wear, but he kept walking. He had found a thick branch and was using that as walking stick as he limped on. </p><p>After a few hours, Naruto saw lights in the distance and could smell smoke. </p><p>It was a town!</p><p>“Thank the gods!” He said with a tired smile, but as he got closer to the houses, doubt settled into his chest. </p><p>The homes were built in the traditional style, with steep thatched roofs that looked like hands stepped in prayer.</p><p>Naruto had just hoped that he run into novelty town that liked traditional architecture, but those hopes were dashed when he caught sight of the Sound nation’s black and purple flag on top of one of the houses, flapping lazily in the night air.</p><p>“Shit.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Work had been super crazy, but I turned out this little piece today. Tell me what y'all think in the comments and see you next time!💕</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Lapse in Judgment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sasuke was having a shit day. </p><p>Usually, patrols were uneventful affairs. Ono, the town where they were stationed, could more accurately be described as a sleepy village. Most of the residents busied themselves with harmless townsfolk gossip. The most interesting thing that happened was when the Aburame<br/>
family accidently released an entire beehive and that terrorized the citizens for an afternoon. </p><p>The border was usually just as quiet. Given that the areas surrounding the Peace Line was pockmarked with mines, no Sound resident dared to cross and no Fire citizen ever tried to come in. </p><p>Sasuke did not mind the boredom, in fact he welcomed it. A few hours of peace and quiet beat having to train recruits back on the base. </p><p>But then the windstorm took what was supposed to be a day of peace and turned it upside-down.</p><p>The freak storm ravaged through the border line, knocking down fences and cutting off power to the entire district. Sasuke and his squad and the tedious work of surveying the damage. They moved through the entire district, marking down which structures were damaged by the storm and  radioing the information back to the engineering division back on the base. </p><p>Since the flora was so dense in some areas, they had to do this work mostly on foot, leaving their moss green jeeps back on the roads.</p><p>“Urgh, this shit is horrible! Can’t you get some fresh recruits to do this?” Suigetsu, his second lieutenant, exclaimed. It was abnormally warm for September and they were in their full gear, so they were sweaty messes. Sasuke felt perspiration pool on the back of his neck but ignored any discomfort he was feeling. He was their captain, so he had to show strength, no matter the circumstance. </p><p>“We’re the ones who know the area,” Sasuke said simply. “Plus, the latest batch of recruits are idiots and they’ll probably set off a land mine.”</p><p>“Well, it’s not like our squad is brimming with intelligence,” Karin, his first lieutenant, said under her breath. </p><p>“Are you making fun of me?” Suigetsu shot back</p><p>“See my point,” Karin said, turning to Sasuke to get his agreement.</p><p>“You’re both giving me a migraine.” Sasuke wished Juugo was there. The large, but quiet private usually acted as a buffer between the two bickering soldiers. But, because he had a keen eye and calm demeanor,  Sasuke had  tasked him with guarding one of the watch towers. With the power being gone, they couldn’t rely on the usual sensors that alerted them of illegal crossings and projectiles coming from the South. </p><p>“We’ll be done faster if you two just shut up and work,” Sasuke said. They were about to move onto the eastern portion of the district when Sasuke heard a noise. It was a call, incomprehensible  but still very human. It was coming from deep in the redwoods to their south. </p><p>“Did you hear that” Sasuke asked his team. </p><p>“Hear what?” Suigetsu said.</p><p>Karin just shook her head. </p><p>Part of Sasuke wanted to ignore it and put it off as just the wind. But something in him told him that wasn’t a case. The woods were extremely dense, so if there was someone stuck in there, they would probably be mulled by a grizzly before ever finding a way out on their own.</p><p>Besides, it was illegal for non-military to be in the Peace Line Zone, so Sasuke had a duty to investigate. </p><p>“You guys move ahead to the E block; I’ll be there soon.” </p><p>“Is that really wise to go out and investigate a mysterious noise all on your own,” Karin said, tilting her head, giving Sasuke a coy smile.</p><p>“My gods Karin, can you stop being horny for five seconds, the man will never sleep with you.”</p><p>That set the two in another shouting match and Sasuke slipped away as the pair threw insults at each other. </p><p>Sasuke did not know what to expect when he went into the forest but seeing an idiot with a loud orange jumpsuit stuck in a tree was certainly surprising.</p><p>The man, a boy really, had shockingly bright blond hair that made him look like a sunflower amongst the backdrop of green.</p><p>He had ordered the idiot to get down and of course he decided to crash land on top of him. Sasuke got the wind knocked out of him and found himself practically face to face with the other man.</p><p>His eyes were a striking, luminous blue, which stood out against the golden tone of his skin. His face was round and interestingly he had three faint scars on each cheek, which served to make his face all the more striking. </p><p> Sasuke mentally berated himself,  this was not the time to be appreciating another’s looks. He pushed his pistol into the man’s side and that made the blond get off in record time.</p><p>From his accent, it was clear that the man was from the Fire Nation. The man was also a faucet, the words just kept coming and coming at such a rapid speed that for moment all Sasuke could do was marvel at the blonde’s stupidity. </p><p>The idiot really thought he was still in the South. When it finally clicked that he was on the wrong side of the border, his eyes went huge, like he was some sort of cartoon.</p><p>The stupidity spewing from the man must have been contagious because instead of apprehending the man as protocol, he gave him the directions on how to get back to where he came from and was left alone in the creek with his foot on a damn mine. </p><p>“How the fuck did this happen?” Karin said when she and Suigetsu came upon the incriminating scene.</p><p>“I told you, there’s an intruder, but he got away.”</p><p>“Got away?” Suigetsu said. “Shouldn’t we go after him?”</p><p>Sasuke had no idea why he gave the blond the right directions on how to get back to the South. It was a stupid lapse of judgement and if his superiors found out that he helped a Fire Nation citizen, he would be done for. </p><p>But the only other person who knew about Sasuke’s mistake would be in the  South in about an hour, so his secret was safe. He still had to keep up appearances though.</p><p>“He’s seemed to be heading towards the town,” Sasuke said, pointing his team to the opposite direction where he sent the blond. “Suigetsu, call in the other squad members and search the fields, but remember if you find him bring him back alive. He needs to be brought in for questioning, got it?”</p><p>Suigetsu saluted and then headed off.</p><p>“Karin, you’re going to help me dismantle this thing.”</p><p>“What?” Karin squawked like a bird.</p><p>Sasuke furrowed his brows. “Your file said that you were an expert in explosives.”<br/>
Karin looked like she was about to throw up. “I scored well in the course, but I never actually did anything in real life.”</p><p>“Well today you’re going to put that learning to the test because I can’t do this by myself.”</p><p>That made Karin pause and then a smile spread across her face. “Wait, are you saying that you need me?” she prompted, her voice hopeful.</p><p>Sasuke kind of wanted to put his foot off the mine and put himself out of his misery, but he swallowed his pride and grumbled, “Yes I need your help.”</p><p>“Hah, well when you ask so kindly, how am I supposed to say no?” She pulled out a small tool kit from her vest and then crouched done in the water. </p><p>The next ten minutes felt like eons. Karin had managed to get the top of the mine off and was surveying the group of wires inside.</p><p>“Karin, what’s the hold up?”</p><p>“I’m trying to remember which line I’m supposed to cut,” she answered with a nervous laugh. </p><p>Sasuke had mentally accepted that this was probably his last day on earth, but then Karin made a decision and cut three wires. </p><p> “Okay,” she said carefully. “I think you’re good now so lift your foot slowly.”</p><p>Sasuke held his breath and focused all his attention and energy in moving his foot at a glacial speed. When his foot was finally away from the mine, both he and Karin let out the biggest sigh of relief.</p><p>“Thank you,” he said as they cleared the creek.</p><p>Karin smiled. “I guess my file was right, I am the queen of explos-”</p><p>The mine went off behind them. The blast was so strong that it knocked them both off their feet and sent a torrid of water at their backs.</p><p>This was really a shit day for Sasuke.</p>
<hr/><p>Sasuke thought that was the worst of it, but as he and Karin were making their way back to their jeep, Suigetsu voice barreled on the radio. </p><p>“I got eyes on the intruder! I’m in the eastern fields!”<br/>
What the fuck? Sasuke thought. His heart froze when he heard the sound of gunshots. </p><p>“I told you to bring him alive!” Sasuke yelled in his walkie talkie.</p><p>“I’m aiming for the legs!”</p><p>Suigetsu was the worst shot of the team, so the blond was as good as dead. </p><p>“Stop shooting, I’m on my way,” Sasuke said as he revved up the jeep’s engine and started driving so fast that Karin had to hold onto the trucks frame to stay on. </p><p>Why in hell was the blond still in the North? The directions that Sasuke gave him were simple enough, so he should have made it past the border by now. </p><p>This is what I get for helping idiots.</p><p>“Huh? What-Juugo what the fuck-“ there was the sound of a scuffle and then the walkie talkie cut out. </p><p>By the time the time they made it to Suigetsu’s position, the blond was long gone. </p><p>“He ran into a mine field so we couldn’t apprehend him,” Juugo said. After hearing the commotion, he must’ve left the tower to help the squad.</p><p>“I could’ve stopped him if you’d let me shoot the guy in the legs,” Suigetsu grumbled. </p><p>“Your shots were nowhere near the guy’s leg,” Juugo said calmly.</p><p>Suigetsu huffed. “And you’re better? All you do when we’re supposed to do training is watch those dumb Southern dramas.”</p><p>“Enough,” Sasuke sighed. If the blond had ran into the minefield, he was surely a goner. It was sad that someone that young would die in such a stupid manner, but there was nothing they could do about that now. </p><p>“I’ll inform the Security Branch that there’s been a breech,”  Sasuke said. He wasn’t actually going to. The blond was dead, so there was no reason to subject the town to agents from the SSB, but Sasuke still needed to look like he was following protocol. </p><p>The rest of the shift was luckily uneventful. They assessed the rest of the damage in their assigned area and after that the team assisted the Engineering Branch in fixing the some of the torn-out fences.</p><p>That took up most of the afternoon. When sun started to set, Sasuke relived his squad of their duty, but he continued working late into the late. Being a commanding officer meant that he also had a lot of administrative duties, duties that he had been procrastinating on because they were so mind-numbingly boring. So Sasuke spent a few hours holed up in his office, finishing up budget requests and maintenance orders for the base.  </p><p>As he biked back home, no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept wondering back to the blond man. Sasuke had no idea why. Yes, the man was objectively beautiful, but Sasuke was never the type to be wavered by something as meaningless as looks. </p><p>It was probably because the man was a vibrant shock to Sasuke’s monotonous existence. Ever since he moved back to the Sound and officially started his military service, his days had followed a predictable routine. Wake up, train recruits, protol with his three-man squad and then paperwork. He would then rise through the ranks, become a general and have a whole new rigid routine, but this time with a couple of more stars on his shoulders. </p><p>This  life was something Sasuke never imagined for himself. Itachi, his older brother, was more of the rule follower. He was the perfect first born and excelled in his military service. But Itachi was gone, so it was up to Sasuke to carry on the family tradition and become the next great Uchiha general. </p><p>Sasuke was broken away from his thoughts when he saw a limping figure on the road in front of him. Most of the citizens of Ono raised with the sun, so there shouldn’t have been anybody out this late. </p><p>He got closer and the shock of seeing that familiar head of hair almost caused Sasuke to crash.</p><p>Was this boy indestructible? How the hell was he still alive?</p><p>Sasuke speed up and then skidded to a stop in front of the man. He did this so fast that the dirt from the road plumed up in the air in little clouds. </p><p>“Is right and left something completely different in the South? Why are you still here?” Sasuke said.</p><p>The blonde blinked at him. He looked like he was dragged through the forest and it seemed like the branch that he was leaning on was the only thing keeping him upright. Sasuke couldn’t help but notice that his tan skin had loss some of its warmth.</p><p>“Can you please stop yelling?” The man said. He sounded exhausted. </p><p>“Who the fuck is yelling? I’m just trying to understand how you could mess up simple directions.”</p><p>The man rubbed the side of his head and grimaced. </p><p>“Urgh you too damn loud.” His voice was starting to sound slurred. “And my head is killing me. I really feel like-” The blonde collapsed before finishing his sentence.</p><p>Sasuke’s military training had gifted him with lightening quick reflexes, but even he was surprised of how quick he sprout out of his bike seat and caught the unconscious man before he hit the dirt.</p><p>For a moment, Sasuke just stood there, arms filled with a dead weight blond, and assessed the situation. There was no way he could bike home with the man in tow so that left only one option, he would have to carry him.</p><p>Fuck my life, Sasuke thought as he hefted the man onto his back. This day really did not end up how he thought it would.</p>
<hr/><p>As the first rays of sun streamed into the house, Sasuke continued his work in the kitchen. He would usually prepare a simple breakfast before heading out to the base, but he couldn’t sleep and when he got like this, he needed to do something with his hands to distract himself.</p><p>But even as he prepared the larger than normal breakfast, Sasuke’s mind kept going back to the shitty situation he currently found himself in. In the span of 10 hours he had broken about 15 regulations, the biggest one being that he was harboring an illegal alien in his home. If any of his superiors got word of this, he would certainly be court marshalled, Uchiha name be damned. </p><p>This wouldn’t have happened if the blond had simply followed his instructions. Maybe he was really a spy? From the brief conversation he had with the man, Sasuke had dubbed him as a loudmouth civilian, but maybe it was all an act? Spies were supposed to be the people you’d least expect, and no one would  expect a dumb blond to be a master of espionage. </p><p>There was rustling and then the blond in question limped into the kitchen. After dressing the man’s gun wound, Sasuke had set aside a set of pjs for him to change into once he woke up. The blond was a few inches shorter than him and had a lithe athletic build, but given his years in the military, Sasuke had broader shoulders, so the clothes were baggy on the other man. The buttoned shirt hung low on the man’s clavicle, revealing a blue gemstone pendant</p><p>The outfit was the complete opposite of what the blond was wearing before. It had been a few years since Sasuke had been abroad, but it was clear from the man’s previous attire that fashion had changed quite a bit outside of the Sound’s border. For one thing, clothes were a lot tighter. The athletic top and bottom the man wore before really left nothing to the imagination. </p><p>“Sit down,” Sasuke, nodding towards the low table. </p><p>The blond looked at the breakfast platter in front of him with suspicion. Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh once he caught that expression.</p><p>“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done that hours ago.” He then bent down and put a spoonful of miso soup in his mouth.</p><p>Once the man realized that the meal was not poisonous,  he dove in. In a matter of minutes, the food was devoured in a hungered frenzy and all Sasuke could do was look in awe and horror.</p><p>“Don’t look at me like that, I was starving,” the man said with a childish pout. He sighed and then said. “But thank you for the food, and for bringing me to your house.”</p><p>“Are you up for answering questions now or are you going to faint again?”</p><p>That made the man blush. “Excuse me, but after the day I had, you’d faint to. May I remind you I fell from the fucking sky.” He eyed Sasuke’s salmon. With a sigh, Sasuke slid the plate over to the blond. </p><p>The man really should have been dead. Either he was blessed by the gods or was the literal embodiment of dumb luck. </p><p>“Look you’re going to answer my questions or I’m going to really drop you off at the security office, got it.”</p><p>“Got it,” the man said with a nod of his head that made his blond hair bounce.</p><p> “What’s your name?”</p><p>“Naruto Uzumaki. What’s yours?”</p><p>“That’s not important.”</p><p>Naruto furrowed his blond brows. “Well, that’s not fair, I have to disclose all my info while you give me nothing?”</p><p>“That’s how interrogations work.”</p><p>“Do you prepare elaborate breakfasts for all your interrogations?” Naruto asked with a raised brow. “The way I see it, this is a conversation between two people who are in a shitty situation.”</p><p>“You do realize that you’re the criminal in this situation, right?”</p><p>“And you’re the one who helped a criminal. That’s why I know you won’t bring me to your superiors because then they’re going to start asking questions and then I’d have to tell them about the Sound soldier who kindly helped me.” He gave Sasuke a smile. “I don’t know much about how you guys run things here, but something tells me your bosses will not like the leniency you showed a fire citizen.”</p><p>This is what Sasuke got for trying to help someone.  Turns out that the blond did have some functioning brain cells and could deduce that he could drag Sasuke down </p><p>“I’m not saying I don’t appreciate the help, but given that we’re both likely to end up in deep shit, I think we should cool off on the hostilities don’t you think?</p><p>“So, like I said, I’m Naruto. What’s your name?”</p><p>Sasuke didn’t answer for a moment,  a vestige of his stubbornness but then he finally answered with a grumble. “Sasuke.” </p><p>Naruto’s smile grew wider. Did this kid have a disorder or something because Sasuke could not find anything about this situation that would warrant a smile. </p><p>“So Sasuke,” He rested his head on his palm and looked up at Sasuke with his big blue eyes. “can you please drop me off to back on the sane side of the border, I would really like to get home.”</p><p>The made Sasuke bristle. “If you wanted to get home, you should have followed my directions when you had the chance.”</p><p>“Can you blame me for not trusting a guy who pulled a gun on me?” The blond shot back. “But you know what, that’s water under the bridge. I realize now that was a dumb mistake, so please can you just drop me off at the border and I’ll be out of your life forever.”</p><p>Sasuke scoffed. “You missed your window of opportunity. Border security is back up and running so unless you miraculously grow a pair of wings, you’re not going to get over a 20-foot-tall electric fence. </p><p>The smile vanished from the man’s face. </p><p>“B-but there’s gotta be a way back to South. I know I can’t waltz to the airport, but people and things get smuggled across the border all the time, right?” He was speaking with increasing speed. “I mean I saw like 2 documentaries about it so you must know a way. Please tell me you know a way.”</p><p>Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. Smugglers were a dime a dozen but getting a smuggler who wouldn’t swindle you was another issue. Plus, it had become increasingly difficult for dissenters to make it out of the Sound Nation.  </p><p>When his uncle, Obito, had deserted 15 years ago, the border had been a lot more porous. That all changed when Orochimaru came into power. One of his first enactments was completely revamping national security. He purged the border guard of corrupt officers and poured billions into fortifying the Peace Line. Now, the only way to get into the Fire Nation was to first take a roundabout route through the Iron Nation and then trek back into the South. The trip was not cheap and there was not guarantee you’d make it out alive. </p><p>“Please, my dad probably thinks I’m dead. I have to get back to him!” Naruto pleaded. </p><p>“Okay, calm down. I heard that some fishermen smuggle in Iron Nation cellphones once a month. I’ll see if one of them will be willing to sneak you in. If I can get you to the Iron Nation, will you be able to make it back to the Fire Nation on your own?”</p><p>“Yes, all I’ll  have to do is call my dad and he’ll probably send the air force to bring me back,” Naruto said with a little laugh. </p><p>That made Sasuke pause. Something told him that the blond was not entirely joking. He then remembered that when Naruto first saw Sasuke, he assumed that he was a Fire Nation soldier sent in to save him. </p><p>“Who’s your father?” Sasuke asked. </p><p>“Huh? Why do you need to know?” The blond asked cautiously. </p><p>“He’s obviously someone important. “ Sasuke pointed his chopsticks at Naruto in accusation. “I’m risking a lot helping you so the least you can do is be honest. Now tell me, who is your father?”</p><p>“Minato Namikaze.” </p><p>Sasuke blinked. “Who?”</p><p>That made Naruto scoff. “Figures. He’s more well-known domestically, but he is the Fire Nation’s Finance Minister, so he holds a lot of sway.”</p><p>Sasuke felt the colour leave his face.</p><p>“Oh, and if we’re being 100% truthful, I should let you know that Prime Minister Tsunade Senju is also my god mother. So, it really would be a shit show if your hire ups figured out, I was here.”</p><p>Shit show was an understatement. If the higher brass or gods forbid Orochimaru figured out that they had a high-profile Fire citizen like Naruto in their midst, they would certainly use him in their war games. And if anything were to happen to Naruto and the Fire Nation got wind, well wars have been fought for less. </p><p>“So,” Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment. “I really don’t want to cause an international incident, so you see why it’s imperative  I get home as soon as possible.”</p><p>“You stay here at all times. Under no circumstances can anybody know that you’re here.”</p><p>Naruto nodded  in agreement. “I’ll be like a ghost, no one will ever know.”</p><p>“Morning Sasuke!” Karin, said as she slid the back door open. Suigetsu and Juugo followed behind. “Let’s walk together-“ she paused and looked at Naruto with wide eyes and unhinged jaw.</p><p>Sasuke should really invest in new locks.</p><p>“Hey!” Naruto shot up from his seat and pointed an accusatory finger at Suigetsu. “You’re the freak who shot me!”</p><p>“Shit it’s the intruder!” Suigetsu pulled out his pistol. “How dare you hold our commander hostage!”</p><p>“Hostage? What the fuck are you talking about?”</p><p>“Clearly you’re coercing him. You even forced him to make you food, you bastard!” Suigetsu gestured at the empty plates on the table. “The Sasuke I know would never do that. He never even let me have one of his bentos, no matter how much I asked!”</p><p>“Southerners are truly cunning,” Karin said, taking out her own firearm.</p><p>Juugo nodded. </p><p>Sasuke felt his head split into two. Would he ever catch a damn break?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lol I was supposed to get this out for Sasuke’s b-day, but alas life got your girl in a chokehold! I hope y’all liked this lil chapter and tune in for more shenanigans next time💕</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Home Inspection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I still don’t understand why we have to help an enemy,” Suigetsu said under his breath. “It doesn’t matter that he’s a Minister’s son, he’s still a Fire rat.”</p>
<p>“Why you gotta be xenophobic?” Naruto shot back.</p>
<p>It took a while for Sasuke to get his squad to calm down. Well more accurately,  he had to spent most of his efforts on Suigetsu and Karin because calm was Juugo’s default setting . He sat them all down at the table and looked up as Sasuke explained the situation. </p>
<p>“I’m not one to agree with idiots, but Suigetsu’s right,” Karin said, meeting Sasuke’s eyes with a serious look. “If anybody finds out we’re hiding a Fire citizen, we’re done for.”</p>
<p>“Nobody is going to find out, he’ll be gone within the week,” Sasuke said.</p>
<p> Suigetsu did not look convinced. “Remind me again why we can’t drop him out in the mountains and let the bears or SB deal with him?” </p>
<p>Naruto looked scandalized.</p>
<p>“Because the SB is going to interrogate him, and they’ll know that a Southerners slipped through the boarder on our watch. Trust me when I say our SB head is not a forgiving man.” Sasuke said. </p>
<p> Lieutenant General Kabuto Yakushi, Ono’s SB lead, was a vindictive ass who pounced at even the slightest hint of insubordination and incompetence in his ranks. He also had a personal vendetta against Sasuke for being an Uchiha, so that didn’t make matters any easier.  His team were only a couple of years in their military service, so they hadn’t had te pleasure with dealing him Kabuto, but Sasuke had and he knew that the man would use this whole fiasco to ship him and his team to some labour camp in the middle of nowhere. </p>
<p>“There are other options_” Suigetsu said, leaving the implication hanging in the air. </p>
<p>Naruto through a fishbone at his face in retaliation.</p>
<p>“What the fuck is wrong with you? Aren’t soldiers supposed to help people in need? Well I’m in need!”</p>
<p>“Enough,” Sasuke, said nipping their argument in thebud. Sasuke had thought that Suigetsu and Karin made an annoying duo, but Naruto and Suigetsu was a whole new migraine inducing combo that Sasuke did not want to deal with. </p>
<p>He had to get Naruto back to the South fast.</p>
<p>“Look guys,” Sasuke said with a deep sigh. “I know that this is beyond the pale, but I need your discretion.  It’s selfish of me, but I’m asking not only as your commanding officer but, well – you know as your-um comrade.“</p>
<p>“I think he trying to say that he’s your friend,” Naruto supplied</p>
<p>Juugo nodded. “He’s the type of guy who struggles with conveying their emotions. It’s a trope I see in drama’s all the time.”</p>
<p> “Don’t put words in my mouth,” Sasuke deadpanned. “And don’t compare me to your weird shows.”</p>
<p>“Aww Sasuke you sap, the feeling’s mutual!” Karin said. </p>
<p>They all turned to Suigetsu. He had his arms crossed and was starring daggers at Naruto. But after approximately 23 seconds huffed and said, “Fine I’ll kept my mouth shut, but if we die because of some stupid southerner, I’m going to kill you all in the afterlife.”</p>
<p>With that, Sasuke told his squad to wait outside and that he’d catch up with them in a minute. He first had to lay some ground rules down with his new house guest. </p>
<p>Naruto wasn’t paying attention. He’s eyes were focused on the ceiling beams with fascination for some reason. He really was a strange one. </p>
<p>“Hey,” Sasuke said, snapping his finger. “Eyes here.”</p>
<p>“There’s not a screw in sight,” the blond said in awe. He then turned his big blue eyes on him. “I can’t believe your house was built by a miyadaiku; do you know how rare that is? This whole neighbourhood should be a heritage site.”</p>
<p>“This is the military’s house, not mine,” Sasuke said and then mentally berated himself for getting off topic. “But that’s irrelevant. I want you to listen carefully. You are to stay in the house at all times. Don’t even think about looking out the window, got it.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yea I got it. I need to be invisible,” he said waving with a wave of his hand. He moved his attention towards the shoji door and was gawking at it like it was a fine museum piece.</p>
<p>“Can you focus for five seconds?” Sasuke said. He then gestured towards the landline. “Now this phone connects to my office. Only use it when there is an emergency, okay.”</p>
<p>“Yep emergencies, got it.”  His eyes then grew five times in size when he caught sight of sunken hearth near the corner of the living room.</p>
<p>“You have an actual authentic irori? Wow people pay thousands for this back in Kohana! How old is the house?”</p>
<p>How could someone be interested in something as so dull as a hearth? The man was truly bizarre.</p>
<hr/>
<p>It was noon when Sasuke got the first call. He picked up the phone on the second ring.</p>
<p>“What,” he said curtly. </p>
<p>“There’s no hot water,” Naruto said. </p>
<p>“How the fuck is that an emergency?” </p>
<p>“You want me to take a bath in cold water? I’m pretty sure that constitutes as torture.”</p>
<p>Sasuke then spent 10 minutes walking Naruto through the process of how to heat the water manually and then using the plastic tarp in the bathroom to trap the heat to make the water stay warm. The explanation should have taken 2 minutes, but Naruto kept interrupting to comment how “ridiculous” the situation was. </p>
<p>Sasuke got his second call at 12:11.</p>
<p>“Where’s you shampoo and conditioner?” Naruto asked. </p>
<p>“Huh.”</p>
<p>“Don’t play dumb Sasuke. You can’t have hair like yours and not use at least conditioner. Now tell me, where is it?”</p>
<p>“When you were in the bathroom did you see a bar of soap?”</p>
<p>“Yeah but-“</p>
<p>“That’s all you need.” He then hung up just as Naruto gasped in disgust.</p>
<p>The phone luckily stopped ringing for a few hours so Sasuke could get some work done. There was a lot more admin stuff to do for some reason. Just when Sasuke had finished approving his last expense form, Tayuya, a junior officer came into his office with more paperwork.</p>
<p>Sasuke scowled at the pile.</p>
<p>“Don’t hate the messenger,” Tayuya said with a shrug.</p>
<p>“Sasuke flipped through the forms and paused when he saw that they were designated for Kabuto. </p>
<p>That was beyond odd. Kabuto was a textbook micro-manager, so it wasn’t like him to just give Sasuke sign-off authority out of the blue. </p>
<p>“Is the Lieutenant General sick?”</p>
<p>“No, he’s just doing home inspections.”</p>
<p>Shit. Sasuke paused and did not let his inner panic show. He had to tread carefully.</p>
<p>“Oh, was there anything that prompted it?</p>
<p>Tayuya paused for a moment, but then she looked like she smiled and decided that gossiping was a lot more fun than listening to protocol. “Well you didn’t hear it from me, one of the cell towers caught some abnormal activity. Apparently, someone in the area tried to make a call to the South yesterday.</p>
<p>Shit, shit, shit!</p>
<p>The shrill ring of his phone cut through his internal turmoil.</p>
<p>“I’ll leave you to your business Captain,” Tayuya said and then left the room just was Sasuke picked up the phone. </p>
<p>“Sasuke,” Naruto’s normally loud voice was now a hushed whisper. “There’s people outside and they’re not leaving.”</p>
<p>“Don’t open the door and just hide in the backyard shed. I’ll be right there.”  </p>
<p>He took one of the base jeeps and broke about 15 traffic laws to make it back to the house in record time. </p>
<p>Low and behold there was Kabuto, standing in front of his house gates with a condescending smile on his face. He was joined with a group of curious looking villagers.</p>
<p>“is there a problem, sir?” Sasuke ask, keeping his voice level and his face blank. </p>
<p>Kabuto’s eyes crinkled as his smile grew broader. “None at all, but I’m so glad you hear because you can help us solve a little mystery. </p>
<p>He gestured towards Neij and Tenten. They were a couple who lived a few yards away from Sasuke. He noticed that Neji was holding his bike in his hands. </p>
<p>Sasuke was beginning to lose count of all the missteps he had been taking as of late. He had planned on getting his bike back from the side of the road early in the morning but got sidetrack with his squad. </p>
<p>“You see your neighbours were trying to return something of yours, but your gate was locked, which is against protocol, may I add,” Kabuto said.</p>
<p>“Sorry Sasuke, we would have left the bike outside, but then we saw smoke from the chimney, so we assumed you were home. We knocked but got nothing,” Tenten said, looking genuinely remorseful. </p>
<p>“And then luckily, I showed up. Now Captain, I know you’re an upstanding soldier, but it’s my duty to investigate all things strange so would you mind opening your home for inspection?”</p>
<p>Sasuke wanted nothing more than to punch the man’s smug little face, but a request form a superior officer was something he couldn’t refuse, so Sasuke walked through the crowd of and unlocked the iron gate. </p>
<p>“Of course, come right on in.”</p>
<p>Kabuto and his lackeys filed into his home. Luckily Naruto was not a complete moron and erased all traces of himself from the living room and the bedroom. Sasuke might have gotten away with everything It wasn’t for one nosey soldier who put his hand against the kettle on the stove top. </p>
<p>“It’s still warm sir.”</p>
<p>Kabuto raised a brow and turned to Sasuke. “Hmm that’s strange, weren’t you at the base all day?”</p>
<p>Sasuke didn’t answer.</p>
<p>“Oh well then, let’s check the yard, shall we?” They moved to the back of the house and the crowd of onlookers joined them.</p>
<p>It took about ten seconds for one of the soldiers to open the door and yell, “there’s someone here! Put your hands up! And step out of the shed!”</p>
<p>Naruto walked out slowly with his hands in the air and a nervous smile. “Guys, umm this is like a huge misunderstanding.”</p>
<p>Kabuto looked like he struck gold. This was his opportunity to get rid of Sasuke once and for all.</p>
<p>“Captain,” his face was manic with sick satisfaction. “Explain yourself. Who is this unauthorized person and why is he in your home?”</p>
<p>Sasuke’s mind went into overdrive as he tried to come up with a plausible excuse. He couldn’t say that Naruto was his relative. Their features were so vastly different, no one would believe that. </p>
<p> “Now guys there’s no reason to overreact-“</p>
<p>The soldier put his gun to Naruto’s temple “The Lieutenant General wasn’t talking to you blondie.”</p>
<p>Sasuke said the first explanation that ran through his head. </p>
<p>“Hey! Do not talk to my fiancé like that.”</p>
<p>Everyone froze. Even Naruto looked like he was stricken with shock.</p>
<p>“Excuse me?” Kabuto said. </p>
<p>“You heard what I said.” Sasuke pushed aside the gun that was aimed at Naruto’s head and then took his place beside the blond and held his hand. “This man is my fiancé, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t threaten him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Note: Hope y’all liked this little addition!!! Stayed up way too late writing this lil chapter so I’d appreciate any feedback lolol.Thank you for all the comments so far, they really make my day! See ya next time!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Moonlight Escape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fiancé?  Naruto could not believe that was Sasuke’s solution to their situation. The notion was just so ridiculous and if Naruto wasn’t in a life or death situation, he would have burst out laughing. </p><p> of the villagers looked shocked, others were smiling, like they were watching a cute puppy video on YouTube, and surprisingly a handful of women looked angry and were glaring at Naruto for some odd reason. </p><p>The grey haired general looked like he was thrown off quilter and was opening and closing his mouth, trying to find his words. Naruto had no idea who the man was, but once he had saw his smug face, his gut told him that he was a grade A asshole. Plus, Naruto had a predisposed bias against authority figures, so he quite enjoyed seeing the man losing his cool. </p><p>“I- well I didn’t know you had a fiancé Captain,” he finally said. </p><p>“I like to keep my professional and personal life separate sir,” Sasuke said simply, but Naruto could hear the contempt in his voice. It looked like he wasn’t too fond of the grey-haired man either. </p><p>The general got over his shock and now was sizing Naruto up with his cold black eyes. Naruto tried not to squirm under the scrutiny. </p><p>“Is there something wrong Sir?” Sasuke asked, his face the textbook definition of cool.</p><p>“I’m proud of the fact that I know the face of every member of this town, and I’m sorry I haven’t seen you around before.” </p><p>Sasuke squeezed his hand and Naruto took that as a sign to shut the fuck up. </p><p>“He’s from- “</p><p>“Captain I think your fiancé can speak for himself, right?” He’s smarmy smile had returned. </p><p>Naruto blanched. Sasuke and told him his accent was a clear marker of his place of birth, but he wasn’t sure he was a good enough actor to play a regular Sound citizen.</p><p>“I’m from Otogakure,” Naruto kept his tone even and calm in a desperate attempt at a northern accent. From the looks of Kabuto’s furrowed brows, it looked like it didn’t work. </p><p>“Sorry, but your accent. I’ve traveled all around our great nation, but I haven’t heard one quite like yours.”</p><p>Shit, shit, shit!</p><p>“That’s because it’s Southern,” Sasuke said and sent a ripple through the whole crowd.</p><p>Naruto turned his eyes at the Sasuke in shock. He had only known the man for a few hours, but he didn’t think the captain would betray him so quickly. </p><p>Sasuke’s face gave away no emotion, but he squeezed Naruto’s hand. </p><p>“He just came back from a mission in the South.”</p><p>Oh. </p><p>It was common knowledge that the Sound sent operatives to the South as spies. Back in the early days of the conflict, Fire Nation politicians would rail against these spies and would implore all southern citizens to be vigilant and to report against citizens they suspected to be Sound spies. It was a dark and paranoid period in the Fire Nation’s history but as the years when on, the hysteria subsided and rarely anyone except for ANBU cared about spies in their boarder. The only time the topic was ever really brought in the public discord was in cheesy b list action movies or in soap operas. </p><p>“You must excuse me,” Naruto said with a little laugh. “I’ve been in that hell hole for so long that it’s hard to shake off this silly little accent.”</p><p>Kabuto looked taken aback again, but then homed his expression back to normal. “I wasn’t made aware that there would be a spy in my district,” He said carefully. </p><p>“I wouldn’t be a good spy if you were,” Naruto shot back with a smile.</p><p>“Sir, as you’re aware Division 7 doesn’t answer to the military and neither I nor you have the clearance to know about their agent’s comings and goings,” Sasuke said. Division 7 must have been a big deal because the crowd started whispering amongst themselves in excitement.</p><p>“Now if you’d excuse us, my fiancé has had quite the long journey, so I ask that you excuse us.”</p><p>Sasuke didn’t even wait for the general’s response as he led Naruto back in the house. Once he slid the backdoor closed, he and Naruto both let out a huge sigh.  8 hours on his own and he already had to deal with an interrogation from a damn general. The Sound really was a snake’s pit. </p><p>If Sasuke wasn’t there, Naruto was sure that he would be on his way to one of the famed Northern labour camps.  The man may have been prickly, but he really was going out of his way and risking his life to help Naruto, a practical stranger. It was rotten luck that Naruto found himself on the wrong side of the boarder, but the gods has shown him some kindness in leaving him in the captain’s care. </p><p>“Thanks for coming back and helping me.” Naruto said. “That really was a close one</p><p>Sasuke took off his military hat and ran a hand through his hair. He really did have great hair. “Yeah no kidding.”</p><p>“So, fiancé. Seems like we’re moving quite fast don’t you think? I would have gone with boyfriend,” Naruto said after a moment of silence in an attempt to lighten the mood.</p><p>The soldier frowned. “In the North, most couples start living together when their engaged.”</p><p>Naruto laughed. “I’m just teasing.”</p><p>That made the captain huff in annoyance and Naruto was like 99% sure he saw the soldier’s cheeks redden. </p><p>The blush was gone in a heartbeat and the man’s face took on a serious expression. “Give me your phone.”</p><p>Naruto blinked. “Huh why?”</p><p>“The whole reason why Kabuto was integrating you was because he picked up a call attempt to the South. You’re the only one in this whole district who would try something that stupid so hand it over.” Sasuke had his hand outreached. </p><p>“Oh,” Naruto said, guilt clear in his voice. “In my defence I thought I was in the South when I made that call.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out the sleek black smartphone. </p><p>Without service or WIFI, it was as useful as a brick, but Naruto had spent the better part of the morning going through his camera roll. It had been only a few hours since he’s been away from home, but he missed his family and his friend and got comfort from seeing their faces through the cracked screen.</p><p>“That model is only made in the South so it’s still too risky for you to be carrying that around. We have to get rid of it.” </p><p>“But my pictures.”</p><p>“You have them backed up, don’t you?” Sasuke said with a raised eyebrow.  He beckoned with his fingers. “I don’t have all day come on.”</p><p>“My K cloud account is full so not everything is saved.”</p><p>“I don’t even know what that means,” Sasuke said. </p><p>Naruto sighed, put placed his phone in the man’s hands. He knew Sasuke was right, but it still sucked. He followed Sasuke into the kitchen and grimaced when he pulled out a steel meat tenderizer. </p><p>Placing his phone on the counter, he prepped to smash the phone into a million little pieces but paused.</p><p>“Stop that,” Sasuke said, shooting Naruto a glare. </p><p>“Stop what?” Naruto said. </p><p>“You look like I’m about to murder your pet. This is for your own good.”</p><p>“You’re about to break my phone, I think I’m allowed to be sad about that.” </p><p>“You can’t even do anything on this phone, are you that sentimental?”</p><p>I have like 4000 pictures on there,” Naruto grumbled.</p><p>“They’re just pictures.” He lifted the hammer, but something was stopping him from bringing it down for the kill. He let out a huff and picked up the phone and popped the KM mobile sim card out. He went to the sink and dropped the piece of plastic down the drain. </p><p>He then threw the phone back at Naruto, who scrambled to catch it. </p><p>“Just keep it out of sight,” He grumbled. </p><p>Naruto blinked in confusion as he held his phone to his chest. He had no idea what compelled the man, but he wasn’t going to complain so with a nod he placed his phone back in his pocket. </p><p>“So,” Naruto leaned against the counter and looked up at the captain’s face. “Since we’re engaged, we should come up with a backstory.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“For when people ask, dummy. Didn’t you see the crowd out there?” Naruto said, sounding like he was explaining something to a child. “Obviously you’re quite popular in this village so people are going to have questions about your dashing new fiancé.”</p><p>“Can’t you just not talk to the villagers? You’re only going to be here for a few days at most.”</p><p>“As much as I love your home’s classical design, it’s going to look mighty suspicious if I stay cooped up in here like Miss. Havisham.”</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“Not important. But as I was saying, we need a believable backstory to our romance. Come on use your imagination.”</p><p>Sasuke paused for a moment in thought. He then said. “We met at the capital.”</p><p>Naruto banged his head on the counter in frustration. “That’s not romantic at all!” He then huffed, “I guess I’m the one who has to do the thinking.</p><p>“Let’s keep the capital setting. You were there from some military business, but you decided to take a break and visit a cafe.” Naruto paused. “There are cafes in the North right?” </p><p>“Yes, we’re not complete barbarians.”</p><p>“Perfect. So, as I was saying you decided to visit a coffee shop, but as you were coming in you bumped into me and I spilled my coffee all over your shirt. You were about to tell me off, but you got struck by my looks and asked for my number instead.”</p><p>“This seems a bit unnecessary.” Sasuke then furrowed his brows. “And I’d never ask for a random person’s number like that.”</p><p>“Well, I’m obviously an exception. Now stop interrupting and listen. </p><p>“So, I was obviously hesitant to give out my number to a rando, and also being a spy made relationships super complicated, but something in my gut was telling me that- hey where you going?” Naruto questioned as Sasuke moved away from the counter. </p><p>“I’m just making tea, continue with your nonsensical story.”</p><p>And Naruto did. He weaved and epic tale of heartbreak, and romance as Sasuke sipped on his tea. He made a cup for Naruto as well, but Naruto was so engrossed with his own storytelling that his drink grew cold and forgotten. </p><p>“And then on the top of the Ferris wheel I popped the question.” Naruto finally finished. </p><p>There was a pregnant pause and Sasuke just stared at him with those unreadable black eyes of his. Naruto felt his face grow hot in embarrassment. He knew that he talked a lot, like a whole lot. It was a habit he had since as long as he could remember. While his friends and family have grown used to his excessive need to fill silence, people outside his social circle were sometimes off put of how he could just talk and talk. Too many times, attractive men and woman who spotted Naruto at a bar or at a party and approached trying to strike up a conversation would end up being turned off because he couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. </p><p>“There’s a problem with your story,” Sasuke finally said. “Onopark has to be the cheesiest place to propose to someone.”</p><p>Naruto blinked. “Did you just tell a joke?”</p><p>“It’s not a joke, it’s a true statement. I would never accept a proposal at a place so gaudy.”</p><p>Naruto started laughing so hard he snorted.</p>
<hr/><p>“Fiancé? Sasuke I feel like every time I come here, the situation gets wilder and wilder.” Suigetsu said as he took a swing out of his beer. He and Karin had shown up with drinks and chips. When the two soldiers had spread their Friday night feast on the low table, Naruto was surprised to see that the North had shared the Souths custom of having their snacks come in variety of flavours and garish, colourful packaging. </p><p>“Then don’t come here, I’ve told you multiple times to stop coming to my house,” Sasuke said.</p><p>From the casual way Karin and Suigetsu were loungein at the dining table, it was clear that Sasuke’s home was their designated hang out spot. It made sense. Ono was no bustling metropolis, so Naruto was sure that bars, clubs and parties were few and far between. </p><p>“So, Mr. Fiancé,” Karin said, leveling Naruto with her auburn eyes. “You’ve fell from the skies and now your engaged to our beloved Captain and yet we know nothing about you.”</p><p>“You do know that this is all fake right?” Sasuke said.</p><p>“Shush, we’ve never gotten to give a shovel talk before, let us have our moment,” Suigetsu shot back.  </p><p>“As I was saying, we know nothing about you, so how are we supposed to know if your worthy of our village’s shining star,” she said with a teasing smile. “They just don’t accept anybody into the Uchiha family.”</p><p>Uchiha. So that was Sasuke’s family name. Naruto did not fail to notice that the man didn’t say his last name when they were introducing each other. He was guarding it like a secret. Given that he acted like there was a stick up his ass, Naruto assumed that his family was a big deal. </p><p>“Mind telling me what’s so special about the Uchiha clan?” Naruto probed. </p><p>Suigetsu scoffed. “Do they not have history books in the South? The Uchiha clan were one of the first factions who rebelled against the Fire Nation. They were one of the most revered families in the country.”</p><p>“Were?”</p><p>“I mean-they still are it’s just,” while Suigetsu was looking for the right words. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke.</p><p>Before, he thought the man’s face was pretty expressionless most of the time but having been in the man’s company for a day he had gotten a lot better at reading his moods. Though his face was as blank as stone, from the way he was griping his bottle and the way his shoulders stiffened, it was clear that the captain was quite uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. </p><p>Naruto put his bottle down and the noise made all the eyes turn to him. “Alright, do your worst. What do you want to know?”</p><p>“How old are you?” Karin asked.</p><p>“Nineteen.”</p><p>“Didn’t take you for a cradle robber Sasuke,” Suigetsu stage whispered for all to hear. </p><p>Sasuke elbowed him in the rib. “Shut up there’s only a 5-year difference between us.” He then furrowed his brows. “Why am I even defending myself?”</p><p>“If it makes you feel better, I’ll be 20 in six days from now,” Naruto said with a wink. He wasn’t going to be there in six days, but it was still fun to tease the stuck-up captain. </p><p>“Alright next question, what do you study?” </p><p>“Architecture.” </p><p>Karin clicked her tongue. “Engineering would have been preferable.”</p><p>Naruto couldn’t help but be reminded of a disastrous Tinder date with an engineering grad student. He had spent the majority of their short dinner explaining, in quite condescending matter, that architecture wasn’t a real STEM discipline and how it was just a mollified version of structural engineering for students who quote on quote ‘sucked at math’. Needless to say, Naruto high tailed out of the restaurant before they even finished their appetizers. </p><p>“Or medicine. Now a doctor would have been a fine partner, Sasuke,” Suigetsu said. </p><p>“And what did you two major in?” Naruto asked with a tilt of his head. </p><p>“Hey,” Karin pointed a finger, her bottle of beer in hand. “This is our shovel talk not yours. </p><p>“Besides, we have signed our lives to protect this fine nation of ours,” Suigetsu said with a hand to his chest. “That’s the most honourable profession there is.”</p><p>“Didn’t you flunk the State Uni Entrance exam?” Sasuke asked. </p><p>“I told you that in confidence!” Suigetsu threw a chip at Sasuke. </p><p>“At least you got to write the exam,” Karin took a bitter sip out of her bottle. “My school was so dirt poor, they couldn’t even give us textbooks, let alone prep us for Uni.”</p><p>“Wait I thought education was free in the Sound.” </p><p>It was one field where the North was supposedly ahead of the South. In the Fire Nation, university came with a heavy price tag. Tuitions had only seemed to be rising and rising, shutting out more and more students from higher education. This was especially felt in the Southern provinces, where many residents fell under the poverty line. Kiba had told Naruto that his family had to take out a second mortgage on their ranch to pay for his school, and his friend still had to bust his ass working part time jobs in order to make ends meet. </p><p>The SNP had promised to make education affordable, but most people knew that was just lip service for the left. Education feel under provincial jurisdiction. Still, Naruto had once cornered the Capital Region’s education minister at a luncheon about their broken promises. The scolding he got from his dad for that scene wasn’t pretty. </p><p>“Just because things are free doesn’t mean they’re equal,” Karin said with a sigh. This was obviously something that has weighed on her. “I come from a tiny little fishing village off the coast. While obviously the state takes care of us but,” she paused. The news had always made out Northerners as a sad brainwashed bunch whose loyalty to the regime was as a result of fear and ignorance, but it was clear that they were just as rationale as any other people. </p><p>“There’s a saying that we have. The further you are from Otogakure, the less you matter.” Suigetsu finished for her.</p><p>“Elitism is a disease everywhere,” Naruto said. </p><p>Suigetsu raised his bottle. “I’ll drink to that.”</p><p>“Same here,” Karin said. </p><p>The two paused and then squawked at the same time. The uniformity of their actions was just so ridiculous Naruto couldn’t help but laugh. He also swore the small smile found its way on Sasuke’s face. </p><p>“This conversation was supposed to be about you, blondie!”</p><p>“Sorry,” Naruto said through his giggles. “I promise to have no more bonding moments with you both.”</p><p>“Where’s Juugo?” Suigetsu said. “That man is stone and he wouldn’t fall for your Southern mind tricks.”</p><p>“He’s completing an errand for me,” Sasuke said. </p><p> That made Suigetsu’s brows furrow. “Wait why does he get to go on secret missions? I am just as capable as he is.”</p><p>That made Sasuke scoff. “Who said anything about a secret mission. Besides weren’t you the one who just admitted that Juugo is the most composed out of our team? Who else would be better to send to the black markets?”</p><p>As if on cue, they heard the sliding door open and Juugo stepped into the living room. He was carrying two shopping bags at his side. </p><p>“Hello,” he said politely. </p><p>“How was your secret mission?” Karin asked as Juugo took his seat at the table. </p><p>“Quite well actually. I had to ask around for a couple of hours, but I was finally able to find a fisherman in the smuggling business. He agreed to help us, for a hefty fee of course.” He took a bite out of a chip. </p><p>“That’s no problem. When is he leaving?” Sasuke said. </p><p>“Tomorrow night. He said to meet him at the docks with the money at 10.” </p><p>Naruto was quite surprised. He thought that securing a getaway would be a little harder, but he wasn’t complaining. His could help but feel his inside grow warm with excitement and elation. He missed his family dearly and he knew that his father was probably going through torment thinking that he was dead. To see him again would be the sweetest thing. </p><p>“Aww I was just starting to like the brat,” Suigetsu said. </p><p>“Wait does that mean I passed your guys scrutiny? Am I deemed worthy to take your captain’s hand in marriage?”</p><p>“Don’t push it blondie,’ Karin said. She then raised a brow at the bags at Juugo’s side. “What do you got there?”</p><p>“Oh,” Juugo plopped the bag on the table and started to take out the contents. “Since I was already at the market, I thought I should get some new shows to add to my library.” </p><p>They were drama DVDS straight from the mid 2000s. Naruto couldn’t help but smile at the dated covers. It was like being transported back to middle school.” </p><p>He picked up one of the DVDs. “This one is really good. I cried for like a whole weekend after the finale.”</p><p>“I saw Yukie Fujikaze on the cover and I just had to get it.” Juugo said</p><p>“Smart choice, she’s good in everything. You know she actually has a new movie coming out that- “</p><p>“Stop encouraging his vices,” Suigetsu said, cutting Naruto off. </p><p>“What’s in the other bag?” Karin asked.</p><p>“Oh, Sasuke told me to pick up- “</p><p>“That’s none of your business,” Sasuke said, snatching the other bag in a quick flash. “Now you guys have overstayed your welcome and I want to go to sleep so get out.” </p><p>“You really are a great host Sasuke.” Naruto deadpanned.</p>
<hr/><p>By the time Naruto woke up the house was completely empty. He had always considered himself to be an early riser, but Sasuke woke up before the sun was even up and Naruto just found that utterly psychotic. </p><p>He mentally prepared himself for the work needed to take a simple bath. He knew that was being spoiled, but you couldn’t blame Naruto for being shocked that there was no hot water in the house. Having ice-cold water hit his back like needles was something he would very much not like to experience again. </p><p>When Naruto stepped into the bathroom, something caught his eye. On the bathroom counter, there was an assortment of body washes. The bottles ranged from the flowery Bath and Body brands to the super hetero axe variety with scents like “Glacier Wolf” and “Mountain Fang”.</p><p>One of the bottles had a yellow posted note stuck on it and it read “Don’t call me,” in neat print. </p><p>So, this was what was in the Juugo’s second bag. Sasuke must have told the soldier to buy some body wash but wasn’t specific so he got the soldier to buy everything.<br/>
Naruto couldn’t help but smile. Sasuke had this uncanny ability of being sweet and being an asshole at the same time. It really was a wonder to behold.</p><p>Part of the reason why Naruto had called the captain so much yesterday was out of boredom. Well the house was a wonder for the eyes, Naruto had explored every nook and cranny yesterday, well everything except Sasuke’s room that is. The house wasn’t large, so his exploration only took an hour at most. While the house was certainly a sight to behold, with no internet or cable it did not have much stimulation. Naruto would have made do with some paper and a pencil. That way he could have spent his time sketching the village but after searching through multiple drawers he came out empty handed. </p><p>Maybe Sasuke keeps his stationary in his bedroom? Naruto thought. He then shook his head. </p><p>Even though Sasuke had not explicitly said that his room was a no-go zone, Naruto knew better than to invade a man’s privacy especially when said man had gone out of his way to help him. He just had to still his mind and find something else to occupy his time. </p><p>Ino had always said meditation was a healthy practice, so now was as good as time as any to start. Naruto sat cross legged on the living room floor and took a deep. He tried not to focus on the creepy state issued portrait of Supreme Lord Orochimaru hanging on the far wall by the clock. Instead he cleared his mind and closed his eyes. </p><p>He stayed there, silent and motionless. Ino would have been proud.</p><p>After about 30 seconds Naruto opened his eyes and huffed. Orochimaru’s face looked on, mocking him for his lack of resolve. </p><p>“I tried.” Naruto said to himself and then made his way to Sasuke’s room. </p><p>At first glance, the room was quite ordinary. Instead of the traditional floor mattress like the one Naruto was using the guest room, his was modern with a built-in bookcase that encapsulated the headboard. </p><p>You could tell a lot about a man by looking at the books he has. The first couple of titles Naruto browsed over were quite boring-they were non-fiction an all about modern war strategies. But then Naruto paused when he reached a whole shelf dedicated to music theory. He pulled out one book.</p><p>“Deconstruction of the Romantic Era; from Chopin to Taki,” Naruto read aloud. He flipped through the pages and some loose leaf slipped out.</p><p>Naruto caught them before they hit the ground. They music sheets. The pages were yellow due to age, but Naruto recognized the neat script. </p><p>Naruto felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He stuffed the papers back inside and shoved the book back in its place. </p><p>He needed to stop snooping around like a creep, get his supplies and just go. Luckily the work desk on the side had an empty notebook and some pencils that he commandeered. He was set to leave but then his eyes caught the picture adorning the desktop. </p><p>It was obviously Sasuke’s family. His father looked like a stern man. He and who Naruto assumed was Sasuke’s brother were both in military dress, but the teenager looked a lot kinder but still reserved with his small smile. His mother on the other hand exuded warmth and elegance. She had a striking resemblance to Sasuke. He looked no older than ten years old in the picture and was smiling unabashedly at the camera. </p><p>Naruto picked up the picture frame to get a closer look. It was sweet seeing such openness on the bastard’s face. He just looked so stupidly happy. </p><p>A heavy knock rang through the house and startled Naruto. His heart skipped a beat and the picture frame slipped out of his hand.</p><p>“Shit,” Naruto cursed. The glass cover had a spiderweb crack. He was fucked.</p><p>The knock at the door continued. Having no time to think Naruto just took the picture with him and went to the front door. </p><p>He paused. Sasuke wouldn’t have wanted him to open the door, but on the other hand it would look pretty suspicious if it looked like he was ignoring his friendly neighbours. </p><p>Naruto took a deep breath and opened the iron door. </p><p>He recognized the two visitors from yesterday. They were the couple who brought in Sasuke’s bike. </p><p>The man was tall and had regal features, with pale grey eyes and long flowing hair. His wife had a pretty face with a charming smile and her hair was done up in cute buns. They made quite a handsome couple.</p><p>“Umm hi?”</p><p>“Hi!” The woman said excitedly. “I’m Tenten and this is my husband Neji. Things were so hectic yesterday that we didn’t get a chance to properly introduce my ourselves.”</p><p>“I’m Naruto, nice to meet you.”</p><p>Naruto wanted to face palm. He should have used a fake name but his words slipped out before he could even think. He really would be a terrible spy.</p><p>“Likewise. You don’t know how surprised we were to hear that Captain Sasuke was engaged. I think the whole village went through a little bit of a shock.” </p><p>“We’ve been neighbours with him for years, but he’s always been so private,” Neji supplied. </p><p>Naruto let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah he can be a bit closed off, but he’s great once you get to know him.”</p><p>Tenten sighed. “I’m so happy for your both.” She then presented a tin to Naruto. “Consider this as a welcome to Ono gift. I hope you like matcha cookies.”</p><p>“Oh wow, you really shouldn’t have.” Naruto tried to take the tin of cookies from Tenten, but it was awkward doing so while holding the broken picture frame. Some glass fell from the cover and then hit the ground.</p><p>“Shoot, sorry I’m such a klutz. I broke that while cleaning up.”</p><p>“Well, we’re actually heading to the market right now so what don’t you come with us?” Neji suggested. </p><p>“Yeah we can show you around,” Tenten said flashing him a big smile. </p><p>Naruto should have said no and found some excuse not to go, but it was hard to refuse an offer when it was presented with such neighbourly pleasantness. It was honestly quite strange. Naruto’s neighbour back home was an old heiress on one side and a corporate lawyer on the other, and both were quite cold and kept to themselves. Tenten and Neji were the exact opposite. </p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>The walk to the market was filled with easy conversation. He learned that Neji was an acupuncturist and worked at his families’ practice while Tenten was a math teacher at the local elementary school. </p><p>They kept turning the conversation back to Naruto’s faux relationship. Thank the gods that Naruto had the wits to plot out his fake love story ahead of the time. When Tenten asked how they met, Naruto was ready. </p><p>“On top of a Ferris wheel? That’s so romantic,” Tenten said once Naruto finished retelling his epic tale.<br/>
“What can I say, I’m a hopeless romantic.” Naruto was glad he didn’t listen to Sasuke’s critic and left that detail in the story. Only people without hearts would think that Ferris wheels were cheesy. </p><p>The market was brimming with activity. There were stalls for everything, meat, shoes, appliances, any item you could think off.</p><p>The strange thing though as that as Naruto followed the Hyuga couple as they did their shopping, he felt a couple of people shooting glares his way. </p><p>“Am I going crazy or do those ladies hate me?” Naruto asked Tenten under his breath, nodding to a particular group of women manning a stand. </p><p>Tenten just waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t pay them any mind Naruto. They’re just jealous that you captured the attention of their beloved Captain. He was sort of the most eligible bachelor in the village.”</p><p>“Majority of them are married so their infatuation with him was pretty weird,” Neji said.</p><p>“People will always have their flights of fancy,” Naruto rationalize with a shrug.</p><p>“Oh well. Hey, look Naruto Kimiko’s stand has picture frames.”</p><p>The middle-aged woman had a stank face once she caught sight of Naruto. He guessed that she was one of villagers scorned by his faux relationship. </p><p>“Hi Kimiko, how much for the frame?” Tenten asked. </p><p>“9000 yen,” she said curtly. </p><p>Naruto had no idea how Northern currency worked, but from Tenten’s gasp Naruto assumed that that was a highly inflated price. </p><p>“Kimiko that seems a bit overpriced,” Neji tried to reason. </p><p>The woman crossed her arms. “This is my only frame; I think price is quite fair.”</p><p>“Don’t worry guys, if that’s the price then that’s the price.” He put his hands in his pocket and for the second time that day, he wanted to slap himself in the face. He didn’t have any money. Heck he did even have a wallet and he doubted that the vendor would accept K-mobile pay. </p><p>“Sorry,” he flashed woman a self-deprecating smile. “I forgot my wallet.”</p><p>“Well I guess no frame for you sweetie,” Kimiko said with her own saccharine smile. </p><p>“Nonsense. We can get it for you,” Tenten said as she opened her purse. </p><p>“No, please that’s not necessary,” Naruto said waving his hands. It was clear that this was a working-class village and from the way that Tenten and Neji bargained for every item they picked up showed that money was tight for everyone. The last thing he wanted to do was take advantage of the Hyuga’s generosity. </p><p>“That’s a nice watch,” Kimiko finally said nodding towards the gold-plated vintage Casio watch adorning his wrist. </p><p>Naruto raised an eyebrow. “You want to trade for it?” </p><p>Kimiko tilted her head, appraising the watch with her eyes. “Sure.”</p><p>“Wait, I’m not going to let you swindle him Kimiko,” Tenten cut in. “We both know that watch is worth way more than a flimsy cheap frame.” </p><p>And then an intense bantering scene occurred. The two women went back and forth and Naruto and Neji were looking at women like they were watching a tennis match. </p><p>Tenten’s hustling skills were truly second to none. After intense back and forth Kimiko finally relented. In exchange of his watch Naruto walked home with a 10-pound sack of potatoes, a new tea kettle, an orange cable knit sweater and of course a picture frame. </p><p>“Trust me, you’ll thank me during the winter,” Tenten said with a wink.</p><p>The Hyuga’s had really made his day and as he waved goodbye to them as his stepped back in the house, he couldn’t help but feel sadden by the fact that he’d probably never see them again. </p><p>Sasuke got home in the evening as usual. He raised his brow at the sack of potatoes sitting on the counter. “Where the fuck did these come from?”</p><p>“I went shopping with our neighbours,” Naruto answered. He was sketching away while munching on Tenten’s cookies. They were quite good. </p><p>Sasuke looked over Naruto’s shoulder to see what he was drawing. It was a sketch of the village center, with is bustling market and large traditional houses banking it on each side. </p><p>“Hmm,” was all he said. He then took a green cookie from the tin. </p><p>“Hmm? Does that mean good or bad?” Naruto asked. </p><p>“It just means I’m surprised that you’re able to draw a straight line, let alone a landscape.” </p><p>Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. </p><p>“Aright we gotta get ready, we’re leaving soon,” Sasuke said.</p><p>Naruto sat up straighter. “What so soon?”</p><p>“The docks are quite far so we need to leave as soon as we can.”</p><p>“Where’s the squad though? It feels weird leaving without saying goodbye,” Naruto said.</p><p>“They’re on guard duty so you’re going to have to leave without saying goodbye. It better this way, you can slip away without any fuss.”</p><p>Naruto pouted. He had grown quite close to Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo and it felt beyond shitty leaving them without a simple goodbye, but Sasuke was right. The less fuss they brought upon with his departure the better. They could then look upon this little period as a bad dream that would be forgotten by morning light. </p><p>“Okay,” Naruto relented. </p><p>With that Sasuke went into his bedroom to get the supplies that Naruto would need for his journey. He was only there a couple of seconds and then Naruto could hear him stomping back in the kitchen. </p><p> “You were in my room.” His glare was filled with accusation. </p><p>“Yeah I had to get paper and a pe- “</p><p>“No, you were snooping around. My picture frame was in a different spot and one of my books was clearly taken out the shelf.”</p><p>Naruto felt himself shrink under Sasuke’s glare. He looked pretty mad.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I went in to get paper at first I swear, it just a got distracted. It was still a very shitty thing to do so I’m sorry.”</p><p>Sasuke still looked mad. “My life is under a microscope at all time, so I really don’t appreciate this invasion in the one space of privacy that I have.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Naruto said again. </p><p>Sasuke just went back prepping for Naruto’s trip but he was still closed off the entire time. Their car ride to the dock was painfully silent. </p>
<hr/><p>Their smuggler went by Tazuna and he was a grandfatherly looking fellow who kept taking generous sips from his flask. Naruto would have feared for their lives, but the man seemed to be a seasoned sailor and a competent drunk. </p><p>Even Tazuna picked up the icy atmosphere between him a Sasuke. While he didn’t say that he was mad, the fact that he was more taciturn and colder than usual spoke to how pissed he was. </p><p>“You know,” Tazuna said.  “Lovers really shouldn’t leave on bad terms. It’s bad luck.”</p><p>“We’re not lovers and I paid you to sail, not to give me relationship advice,” Sasuke shot back. </p><p>Tazuna just shrugged at went pack steering the boat. </p><p>The sound of the waves filled the silence. The full moon hung heavy in the sky, casting a blue glow across the black sea and illuminating the planes of Sasuke’s face. </p><p>Naruto realized that he was staring at the man. He turned and looked out at the endless horizon instead.</p><p>“I still don’t want to leave on bad terms Sasuke.” Naruto grabbed onto the railing to still himself.</p><p>“What I did was highly inappropriate. You let me into your home, and you’ve helped me so much and I acted like a creep. I just want to let you know that I appreciate all that you’ve done. I hope that I can leave with us being cool.”</p><p>And to leave as friends, but Naruto let that point go unsaid.</p><p>Sasuke sighed. He placed his hands on the railing too and Naruto couldn’t help but notice how close their hands were. “Look I’m not mad, it’s just embarrassing that you saw that part of me.”</p><p>“That part?” Naruto furrowed his brows. “You mean you being a musician? What’s embarrassing about that?”</p><p>“I’m not a musician.”</p><p>Naruto scoffed. “Please, you had like five books on Tchaikovsky. Either you’re a musician or a psychopath. Besides, my dad forced me to take piano lessons when I was young. I hated it, but even I can tell that the work on your music sheets were completely original.”</p><p>Sasuke didn’t answer for a moment.  He looked trapped in his thoughts. Naruto just wanted to shake the man’s shoulder to let him know that opening up wasn’t a bad thing. But instead of prodding, Naruto just waited. </p><p>“It’s just,” he sighed and then started again. “Coming into the army meant that I needed to leave childish ambitions behind. If I’m ever want to move up ranks, I need to leave things like that in the past, but so far I’ve been too weak to do so.” </p><p>He was leaning his forearms against the railings now. He didn’t look mad anymore but just tired. </p><p>“That’s bullshit,” Naruto said</p><p>That made Sasuke turn to face him.</p><p>“Do they except you to be all war all the time?”</p><p>The corners of Sasuke lifted in a small sad smile. “Kind of yeah.”</p><p>Naruto huffed. “What sort of life is that?” Naruto had no idea why, but this conversation was getting him pretty worked up.</p><p>“It’s the life I have to live to keep my family safe.” Sasuke said with a shrug.</p><p>“Call me childish but I think that’s pretty fucked up,” Naruto said, meeting Sasuke’s gaze. </p><p>The sound of the waves filled the space in-between his words.</p><p>“It is what it is.”</p><p>“You know, maybe our countries will go through reunification in this century. Then you wouldn’t have to be a fancy schmancy general” Naruto said. It was a far-fetched, laughable statement. The two nations have been diverging for generations, so much so that having a united North and South was nothing but a pipe dream for idealist. </p><p>Sasuke let out a small laugh that made Naruto smile. “Maybe.”</p><p>“When our countries are one, you have to promise to visit me and play me some original scores,” Naruto said, nudging Sasuke with his shoulder. </p><p>“Don’t know why you’d want to hear that crap but sure.”</p><p>“20 minutes until we reach Iron waters boys,” Tazuna called, breaking the moment. </p><p>Sasuke stiffened and moved away from Naruto.</p><p> Naruto felt a hinge of disappointment for some reason, but he just casted those emotions aside. Instead, he looked up the horizon in anticipation. He could see black sloping shapes that were the Iron coast in the distance. It was crazy how in a few minutes he would be free from the Sound and one step closer to home. </p><p> A blinding light suddenly appeared behind them and Naruto felt his heart jump to his throat. </p><p>“This is unauthorized travel, cut the engine and allow us to board.” The command cracked through a blowhorn. </p><p>Sasuke turned furious eyes at Tazuna. His expression could have frightened death. “You said that coast guard doesn’t patrol this section.”</p><p>“They usually don’t, just calm down and go into the hold,” Tazuna said nodding to the storage door. “I just need to give then a couple of yens and that’ll shut them up.”</p><p> They rushed into the cluttered, dark hold. Naruto was doing his best not to freak out but was failing miserably. </p><p>“Shit what the fuck are we going to do?” Naruto said in a whispered shout. </p><p>“Stop hyperventilating, they’re going to hear us.”</p><p>“I’m not hyperventilating!” Naruto snapped. He hated confined spaces. Being trapped under rubble as a kid usually lent itself well to a bit a claustrophobia. </p><p>They heard the sound of footsteps above. They then heard Tazuna explaining to the unseen coast guard that he was just on a midnight sail and that he didn’t realize he steered so far away from Sound Waters. </p><p>“I’m sorry for causing you such trouble. There must be something I can do to make amends.” Tazuna let the implication of bribery hang in the air. </p><p>“I’m not a crooked officer so I don’t appreciate you trying to buy me off.” The guards voice was cold and authoritative. “You can make amends by opening up your storage unit.</p><p>“Huh?” Tazuna said. </p><p>“If you’re on a simple boat ride you shouldn’t have anything to hide right?”</p><p>“We’re dead, we’re fucking dead,” Naruto whispered. He frantically looked around, but the hold was so small that there was no place to hide. </p><p>“Shut up and let me think,” Sasuke snapped. </p><p>“Think? What the fuck can we do?”</p><p>Sasuke’s face suddenly lit up with what Naruto assumed was an idea. He put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. </p><p>“I know what to do, but don’t freak out.” His voice was deadly serious. </p><p>“Why would I freak out, just tell me what to do!”</p><p>“I said open the door or I’ll force myself in,” the guard’s voice rang from above. </p><p>The door above them started to crack open, sending in a sliver of moonlight, but Naruto barely noticed because at the same time Sasuke moved into his personal space, put hand to his cheek and crashed their lips together in a kiss. </p><p>Naruto felt his heart stop and his face burn. He couldn’t even react to the kiss because before he knew it, it was over. </p><p>Sasuke broke away and looked up at Tazuna and the guard. “Oh sorry, we seemed to have gotten carried away.”</p><p>The guard looked embarrassed, as if he walked in on an actually scandalous scene.</p><p>“You stupid kids, get up here,” Tazuna said. </p><p>Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s hand and lead them back above board.</p><p>“I’m sorry sir,” Tazuna started. “My nephew asked if he and his boyfriend could tag along for the ride, but I didn’t think they act like this.” He played the act of a disgruntled uncle perfectly. </p><p>“Sorry uncle,” Sasuke said. The guard didn’t look mad, but he didn’t look a 100 percent convinced either.</p><p>“Why were you below deck in the first place” the guard asked. </p><p>Sasuke did not miss a beat. It was good thing he was still in his military uniform because he carried an air of authority. “We were cold, so we went down there to look for blankets.” He gave a look to Naruto and Naruto felt a hot flush colour his cheeks. “I’ve been on deployment for the past six months, so I just let things go a bit too far. Again,I apologize for making a scene.”</p><p>“Kids these days,” Tazuna grumbled, shaking his head. </p><p>The suspicion melted off the guard’s face. “Don’t be too hard on the boys, young love can’t be helped.” He patted Sasuke’s shoulder good naturally. Naruto caught his eyebrow twitch in annoyance from the touch. </p><p>“But you boys shouldn’t be sneaking around. The moonlight may be romantic, but people may get the wrong idea seeing you out on the water so late. You’re a soldier so you know you always have to carry yourself well at all times”</p><p>“Thank you for the advice sir,” Sasuke said with a nod. </p><p>With that the guard returned back into his boat and Tazuna turned the boat around. They wouldn’t be reaching Land of Iron that night. </p><p>“Why is your face still red?” Sasuke asked once the guard was gone. “Did the kiss fluster you that much?”</p><p>Naruto glared him. “Get over yourself. The kiss was the lamest I’ve ever experienced. I’m just cold,” He grumbled. </p><p> “The coast guard staff apparently rotates their personal every 8 weeks so hopefully the next guard can be bought,” Tazuna said. </p><p>Naruto felt his stomach drop in despair. Waiting another two months for just a chance of freedom was a cruelty Naruto wasn’t prepared for. </p><p>“Thanks, but we’ll find another way,” Sasuke said. He must have felt the turmoil brewing in Naruto because he turned his black eyes to look Naruto in the face. “I’m serious, I’ll find another route,” he said, his voice filled with conviction.</p><p>Naruto nodded. He believed that the man was set on keeping his words, but as the Iron shoreline grew farther and farther way, Naruto couldn’t help but feel dread sinking in his chest</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m so sorry for the delay guys!!! Work has been absolutely insane!!!!!  I hope you liked this latest addition. Lol I wonder if you can deem this story a slow burn when they kissed so soon. Anywayzz, I hope you are all staying safe!! Please feel free to comment, they really do make me smile!😘</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Machiya</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are you really going to stay on the floor all day?” Sasuke asked. He was putting on his uniform in preparation for the day. They had gotten back from the bay a few hours ago, but even that dawn was fast approaching, it made no sense going to bed. Funny thing was that even though the Captain didn’t have any sleep, the bastard still looked pristine. </p><p>“Leave me alone,” Naruto said. He was sprawled across the tatami mats, looking like the textbook definition of gloom, but could anyone blame him?</p><p>Their failed boat escape was still heavy on Naruto’s mind. While he usually prided himself as being an optimist, seeing the ship disappear into the night had really done a number on his morale and a terrible thought kept spinning around in his mind like a carousel.  </p><p>What if he was stuck here forever? </p><p>Sasuke sighed. “Your memory can’t be that bad. I told you that I’m going to get you back home so you can stop sulking like a baby.”</p><p>Naruto raised his head from the floor. </p><p>“I’m not a baby,” He shot back. </p><p>“So, you admit that you're sulking?”</p><p>Naruto scoffed. “Excuse me for being a bit bummed out. Anyone in my situation would be a little stress.”  </p><p>“You know,” Sasuke said offhandedly as he put on is coat. “Aside from the education camps and the secret police, the Sound isn’t that bad. </p><p>Just then the lights illuminating the room flickered, the tale tell sign of an incoming power outage. </p><p>“Ha-ha, very funny. You gotta tell me when your next Netflix special is.”</p><p>Sasuke paused at the door. </p><p>“Naruto,” he said. His tone made Naruto sit up a little straighter. </p><p>“I made a promise and I intend to keep it; you just have to be patient.” Again, he said those words has if they were a certainty. Then, like a dramatic hero in some b-rate drama, he walked out the door. </p><p>Naruto moved to lay on his back, looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He took out his phone, not to look at his non-existent notifications, but to look the at the date. </p><p>October 10th, his birthday. </p><p>This was probably the main factor contributing to his current depressive episode. He knew it was childish, but the fact that it was his birthday amplified his home sickness to an excruciating level. </p><p>Being an only child, his parents had always made his birthday a huge event. One memorable moment was his 8th birthday. Naruto was at the apex of his frog obsession, so his mother had transformed their home into their own little rainforest and to top it off she had made his father dawn a frighteningly accurate, bright orange Gamakichi costume. </p><p>Though with his mother passing, his birthday took a more sober tone, Naruto’s father still made it a point to mark the special day, no matter how strained their relationship had gotten. The man would clear out his afternoon schedule and accompany his son on an all you can eat ramen spree. After that, Naruto’s friends took over and they would take the blonde on an alcohol fuelled journey through the clubs and bars on Kohana’s swanky entertainment strip which would usually result in Naruto waking up in somebody else’s bed. </p><p>Naruto slapped his cheeks. </p><p>Pull yourself together Uzumaki, he told himself. Acting like a spoiled sap was not going to get him anywhere so he needed to snap out of his slump. </p><p>His eyes wondered to the customary Orochimaru portrait. With that smarmy smile plastered on the man’s skeletor-like face, Naruto couldn’t help but feel like he was being mocked. </p><p>I’m not going to let you win you old fart. </p><p>He knew that Sasuke had wanted him to play a recluse, but no birthday should be spent couped up inside, so with that Naruto went out the door to wander the town.</p>
<hr/><p>Without Tenten and Neji as guides and with no yens to his name, Naruto didn’t know where to go, but ever the adventurer, he set off on the dirt road to get his feel of the town. </p><p>Though some of the women in the street shot him cold looks, the majority of the people Naruto passed were quite genial with many throwing him a neighbourly nod or wave as he passed by. He couldn’t help but smile. Having grown up in the metropolis that was Konoha all his life, he was not used to the folky nature of the villagers (nor seeing so many animals out and about, did people let goats wonder by themselves?), but he welcomed it, nevertheless. </p><p>The bustle of Konoha made the city seem impersonal. Its streets were made up of a sea of people always in a rush to get to work, to class, or to some other event that they were running late for. The atmosphere in Ono was the opposite, instead of treating time like something that was constantly slipping away, everyone in Ono seemed to move about their lives in a much more leisurely pace and basked in each other’s company. </p><p>Well, almost everyone. Naruto took in the sights, one thing kept coming up again an again. Two men with matching bowl cuts and ridiculous bright green coveralls working on a store front. They moved at breakneck speed, with one fixing up the wooden lattices on the ground level while the shorter of two was vigorously hammering in baked tiles on the roof so quickly his arm was a green blur. </p><p>“That’s it, Lee! Let the power of youth explode!” The older man yelled in encouragement. </p><p>“Yes Guy-sensei!”  Lee yelled back with a salute and then went back to hammering away. </p><p>Naruto was so transfixed; he couldn’t help but admire their handy work and the store’s beautiful Machiya facade. The building was clearly old and needed work, but its craftsmanship was truly exquisite.  </p><p>Guy must have felt Naruto’s eyes on him because he turned to face the blonde, eyebrows raised in question. The look of confusion disappeared, and he shot Naruto a blinding smile. </p><p>“Is there anything I can help you with lad?” The man asked. </p><p>Sorry for being weird I just always had an interest for traditional architecture.” Naruto said rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>The smile on Guy’s face grew wider and practically sparkled. “No need to be embarrassed my boy! I didn’t think someone like you would like this sort of thing.”</p><p>That made Naruto pause. </p><p>“Someone like me?” Was it that obvious that he was a born and bred southerner? He couldn’t believe he got caught so fast. Sasuke was sure to skin him alive for blowing his cover in record time.</p><p>“You know, someone from the capital? They say that the buildings of Otogakure are the envy of the world and that they practically pierce the clouds.”</p><p>“Oh, right,” Naruto said with a nervous laugh. From what he saw in the news, he wouldn’t exactly call Otogakure’s gaudy post-modern style as a marvel of the world, but he played along. </p><p>“Yeah, the capital’s great, but this,” Naruto gestured at the store front with wide hands, “work like this is really a lost art. It looks like this façade hasn’t changed since the 9th century.”</p><p>Just then the front door of the building slid open and out came a beautiful woman with long dark hair and lilac-coloured eyes. She had a striking resemblance to Neji. </p><p>“You guys must be thirsty, so I got you some water.” She stopped in her tracks once she caught sight of Naruto and her face flushed.</p><p>“Oh hello?” she said in a quiet and confused voice.</p><p>“Sorry to scare you, I’m Naruto. I was just admiring your store, it really is amazing,” Naruto said with a huge smile. He had no idea why the woman looked so frightened and was blushing like a tomato, but either way he tried to put his best foot forward to put her at ease. </p><p>“Umm, thank you? I-It’s really not anything special, the practice has been in my family for years, so the building is old and a l-little run down.”</p><p>“But after we are done with it, it will be a paragon of youth, right Lee!” Guy said in his booming voice, such a harsh contrast to the woman’s timidness. He took one of the glasses from her and downed  the water down in a huge gulp that was quite impressive. </p><p>“Right Guy-Sensi!” Lee said, he practically slid down the ladder, which was impressive given the brace on his leg, and landed with a small puff of dust. He too finished his drink in impressive speed. </p><p>Naruto turned back to the woman, “Sorry for prodding, but are you related to Neji by any chance?”</p><p>“Y-yes, we’re cousins actually. I-I’m sorry but he’s on a house call s-so it’s just me here today.”</p><p>“Don’t apologize, I was just admiring the village, so I wasn’t really looking for anyone. Plus, I’m glad to make your acquittance Miss….”</p><p>“Hinata,” she said in a breathy tone. Naruto wondered if she had asthma. </p><p>Guy then patted Naruto’s shoulder, “Naruto here has quite the keen eye for craftsmanship.” He then paused and Naruto could practically see the light bulb turn on above his head.</p><p>“I know, why don’t you help us with our restoration work? You clearly have an interest in this sort of thing so what better way to spend the afternoon? </p><p>“Oh, no,” Naruto said, shaking his head. Even though he wanted to get a closer look the twos work, he was supposed to be laying low. “I don’t want to get in the way, I’ve distracted you guys enough.”</p><p>“Nonsense! You obviously know your stuff and we’d welcome the help! I’m sure Ms. Hyuga agrees!”</p><p>Hinata’s eyes widen like a doe, “Oh please, it’s no problem at all. Please do whatever you think is best.”</p><p>Naruto wavered for a second. He only really read about this style of architecture in books and online but to do actual hands-on restoration was a completely different thing. But on the flip side he would probably never get another chance to work on an authentic Machiya style building ever again. </p><p>In the end, desire won out. </p><p>“Well, if you don’t mind me giving me pointers, I’d be happy to help!” </p><p>And that was how Naruto found himself on the roof learning how to install traditional clay tiles. </p><p>While Naruto knew about roofing in theory, he was completely clueless on how to do it in the real world. His schooling really only prepared him how to build things through a computer while sitting at a desk. Luckily Lee was a patient yet enthusiastic teacher. He was more than happy to explain the process in laymen term and in no time, Naruto was laying down mortar and hammering in the sun-baked tiles in no time. </p><p>“You’re quite the natural,” Lee said with a wide smile after Naruto finished a whole column by himself.</p><p>After Naruto got comfortable with the work, their conversation turned to other things beside the intricacies of roofing. Naruto had learned that Lee had been Guy’s apprentice for about 5 years but before that he had dreams of being a long-distance runner. </p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Lee answered with a nod.  “In high school I actually had the national record in the 1500 m. I was training for the Olympics but,” he gestured to his brace. </p><p>“I’m sorry, that must have been a terrible injury,” Naruto said commiseratively. Lee sounded really proud of his past career and given the man’s energetic nature; it wasn’t hard to believe that he was an up in coming track star. </p><p>“It happens,” Lee said, not sounding the less bit upset. “There’s not much you could do about shrapnel, but I’m luckier than most. </p><p>“Shrapnel?”</p><p>“Yeah, you know, from drone strikes. My hometown is close to a major base, so it caught up in the South’s last bombardment. The cowards didn’t care who they hit.” He’s cheerful demeaner had faded into something more resentful. </p><p>Naruto didn’t know what to say. While it had been years since the Fire Nation had sent ground troops in the North, it did not mean that there was no fighting. Whenever the two nations got into another skirmish, instead of men, the Southern army would rain fire down on the North from the comfort of an air-conditioned control room. </p><p>“But that won’t be a problem for much longer,” Lee said, the smile returning on his face.</p><p>At first it was hard for Naruto to believe that that any sane would be happy about an increased nuclear arsenal but when he looked at the situation from the northern perspective it made sense. Countries would think twice of striking the Sound Nation once it became a full-fledged nuclear power. </p><p>Luckily as the afternoon carried on their conversation moved past the geo-political realm to something much simpler, competition. It turns out that both men had a competitive streak and thus they raced to see who could lay down the most tiles before the sun set. Guy and Hinata would periodically take a break and look survey their roofing race in amusement.</p><p>The competition grew heated, novice or not Naruto was determined to give Lee a run for his money. Despite it being autumn, the temperature climbed so Naruto took off his sweater undershirt so he could work better. That made Hinata stumble for some odd reason. </p><p>Being the professional Lee obviously won. Whooped as he laid down his last piece and Guy and Hinata clapped in congratulations. </p><p>“Good game!" Lee said with a winning smile and then happily joined Naruto’s side to help him finish his portion as well. Naruto was exhausted but content. This for sure was not how he envision his birthday going, but happy that the work and Lee’s company made his deep feeling of homesickness subside for a few hours. </p><p>The sun was hanging low when Sasuke strolled upon the scene. </p><p>“Hi Sasuke,” Naruto yelled down, waving, hammer in hand. </p><p>“What are you doing up there?” Sasuke called back. “I was looking everywhere for you.”</p><p>Naruto and Lee made their way down.  Luckily Sasuke didn’t look too mad but he did raise an eyebrow at Naruto’s shirtless state. </p><p>He flushed and hurriedly put his sweater back on. Hinata looked disappointed. </p><p>“Your partner is quite the workmen, he cut our worktime in half!” Guy said slapping Sasuke in the shoulder. </p><p>“Hmm,” Sasuke said. </p><p>“Thank you for teaching me the ropes guys, it was super fun, and I learned a lot.” Naruto already had ideas of how incorporate what he learned into his final design project if he ever got back to the South.</p><p>He and Sasuke about to go on their way when Guy raised a hand to stop them in their tracks. </p><p>“Where do you think you’re going? I haven’t paid your wages,” Guy said rummaging in his pockets. </p><p>“That really isn’t necessary, I only did this for fun,” Naruto said.</p><p>“Nonsense! You were integral to our success my boy and you deserve to be compensated, right?” He pulled out some bank notes and looked to Hinata and Lee for support. </p><p>“You d-did a very good job Naruto,” Hinata said quietly.</p><p>“It would have taken me two days to do the roof by myself!” Lee said in his booming voice. </p><p>“See?” Guy then shoved the bank notes into Naruto’s hand. </p><p>Naruto wanted to refuse again, but then Sasuke put a hand on in shoulders. </p><p>“Guy has a representation of being persistent so there’s no use trying to resist,” Sasuke said simply. </p><p>With that they made their way back to Sasuke’s house.</p><p>“You know,” Sasuke started one they were out of ear shot, “When I told you to lay low, I didn’t mean to go out and find yourself a job.”</p><p>“Sorry, I sort of stumbled upon it,” Naruto said rubbing his neck in embarrassment. “He then turned a surveyed the yens. “Maybe I should try to give back to Guy later?”</p><p>“Trust me crossing the border would be easier than that,” Sasuke replied. “Now let’s pick up the pace, we’re late.”<br/>
“Late for what?” Naruto asked, but Sasuke did say anything. </p><p>When they got back to the house, Naruto got his answer. </p><p>Sasuke’s squad was in the back yard. Karin and Suigetsu were trying set up the grill while Juugo was busy prepping an assortment meat and veggies. To top it off, there were copious bottles of sake. </p><p>“It shouldn’t be taking you guys this long to set up the barbeque,” Sasuke said in a judgmental tone </p><p>“This thing must be from the fifties,” Karin said while fiddling with the iron grates, “plus it doesn’t help that I have a dumb ass helping me.” She gestured to Suigetsu, “This idiot literally almost burned my hair off.”</p><p>“I said I was sorry!”</p><p>“What’s all this?” Naruto said turning to Sasuke.</p><p>“Nothing, we’re just having dinner outside,” Sasuke said simply. </p><p>That set Suigetsu off for some reason. He sprung up to his feet and said, “Nah uh Captain, I’m not going to let you do that! You made us get all this stuff ready for this infiltrator’s birthday, so you best own up to it!</p><p>Sasuke shot Suigetsu a deadly glare and in response the man went back to work.</p><p>“Birthday? How did you know?” Naruto then recalled his first day in the North. </p><p>“You told us you were turning 20 in three days, not all of us struggle with simple math,” Sasuke said turning away from Naruto. He could see a flush take hold of his pale neck. “Plus, you were sulking all morning.”</p><p>Naruto couldn’t help but laugh at the Captain’s flustered state. He had no idea why being nice made the man blush, but it was a cute sight to see. Naruto couldn’t help but laugh.</p><p>That made Sasuke turn back to him. </p><p>“Thank you,” Naruto finally said, his voice a little breathy from giggling. “This is really sweet.”</p><p>He shot Sasuke a wide smile and he gave Naruto a small one in return. </p><p>They were then baked in a warm glow. Karin and Suigetsu had finally started up the grill and the two whopped at their success.</p><p>“Alright you two, enough of the sappy shit, let eat!” Suigetsu said. </p><p>“Per Northern tradition, the birthday boy gets the grilling rights.” Karin said. She then tossed a metal tong to Naruto, who fumbled to catch it. </p><p>As Naruto was happily stuffing his stomach with an ungodly amount of beef and pork, Juugo handed him a package wrapped in parchment paper. </p><p>“Huh?” Naruto said.</p><p>“Don’t talk with your mouth full, it’s gross,” Sasuke said. </p><p>“You don’t like sea food?” Naruto said opening his mouth wide in Sasuke’s direction. The Captain kicked his foot lightly in response.</p><p>Turning back to Juugo, Naruto gulped his food and took the package. “You really didn’t have to get me stuff guys.”</p><p>“That’s what I was saying, but these three are too soft,” Suigetsu replied, gesturing to the rest of his squad. </p><p>“We really didn’t know what to get you, so we had to ask the Captain for suggestions,” Karin supplied. </p><p>He ripped open the wrapping and found a leather-bound sketchbook and fine grade pencils. </p><p>Naruto was at a loss for words. He really did not know what he did to deserve their kindness.</p><p>“Captain, you said he would like this,” Juugo said, misinterpreting Naruto’s silence.  </p><p>“I told you no one would like school supplies,” Suigetsu said under his breath. </p><p>Naruto let out a laugh. “I’m just stunned. This is perfect thank you!”</p><p>He thought that would be the end of the gift giving, but then Sasuke pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. </p><p>“I really can’t accept another birthday gift,” Naruto said shaking his head. </p><p>“It’s not a gift, it’s something that I promised,” Sasuke said simply. </p><p>Naruto unfolded the paper. Up on the top it read “Sound Travelling Authorization.”</p><p>Naruto shot Sasuke a bemused looked. </p><p>“It’s to go to the Capital, it’s the only place where you can get a passport.”</p><p>“Passport? Does that mean...”</p><p>Sasuke shrugged, “I was able to get you a spot on an outgoing flight with the Sound’s soccer team, so you’ll be flying to Suna in a week.”</p><p>Naruto tackled Sasuke in a hug. </p><p> “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Naruto said, his face buried in Sasuke’s shoulder. </p><p>“Get off me,” Sasuke said, sounding choked. Naruto was a little too enthusiastic. </p><p>“I guess he liked the Captain’s gift better than ours,” Suigetsu said with a laugh. </p><p>“Given that Sasuke told us what to buy, he wins either way,” Karin said. </p><p>“At least our present was wrapped,” Juugo said in consultation. </p><p>They spent the rest of the evening drinking their sake and basking in the warmth from the grill. At one point of the night, Naruto took out his phone and started playing music from one of his many pop playlists.</p><p>Who knew that the offline version of Spotify premium still worked in enemy territory?</p><p>That naturally lead to Naruto teaching Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu the dance from one of his favourite MVs. They had tried to get Sasuke to participate. The Captain said he would rather eat his arm, so he just watched their drunken performance while sipping his sake. </p><p>“Suigetsu you’re messing up, you’re supposed to bend your knee and point in the air at the same time,” Naruto said, and then did the move himself to show the platinum-haired man how it was done. </p><p>“There’s a like a million little moves every second, how am I supposed to remember?”</p><p>“Just follow Karin and Juugo, their perfect.”</p><p>Karin winked at Suigetsu which caused the man to flush in embarrassment. </p><p>They took it from the top, but they were all a little drunk so when Suigetsu lost his balance at the chorus, he bumped into Juugo which cause a domino effect that cause all four of them to stumble to the ground in a giggling heap. </p><p>“Okay,” Sasuke said, pausing the synth filled music. “I don’t want you to kill my team, so I think that’s enough.”</p><p>“Boo,” Karin said in protest, but as always, they listened to their commanding officer. It was beyond late and the three soldiers had work in the early morning. </p><p>After he filed his subordinate out of the house, Sasuke then helped Naruto back to the guest room. Though they both had the same amount to drink, the alcohol hit Naruto a lot harder. While the Captain just had a sake induced flush on his face, Naruto was a stumbling mess and had to lean on Sasuke so he wouldn’t hit the ground. </p><p>“Thank you or an amazing birthday,” Naruto slurred. He patted Sasuke’s cheek. </p><p>“You already said that ten times.”</p><p>“And I mean it! I thought this day would be the shittiest, but I got to work with Ma-Machiya craftsmen, and I had an amazing party.”</p><p>Sasuke laughed, “I think the alcohol is messing with your already lacking judgment skills.” He led Naruto towards his bed. </p><p>“Is, not,” Naruto mumbled. He then sent a questioning look up at Sasuke, “Hey why aren’t you drunk?”</p><p>Sasuke lowered the inebriated blond to his floor mattress, while Naruto was holding on to his shoulders like some sort of lemur.  “I am drunk, I’m just better at hiding it than you.”</p><p>Naruto’s head hit the pillow, but he still didn’t let go of Sasuke. The Captain raised a sharp eyebrow. </p><p>“It’s cause you’re so cool,” Naruto mumbled. On a good day he struggled to keep his words in, but with booze, the words flowed through him like a water through a busted dam. </p><p>“Naruto,” Sasuke said in a cautious tone, but he didn’t move away. </p><p>“You are,” Naruto said adamantly, “and even though you’re an asshole, you’re still sweet.” </p><p> Naruto moved his hands from Sasuke’s broad shoulders to the man’s pale neck. Not only was he a talkative drunk, he was also a handsy one as well. </p><p>“And handsome, it’s so frustrating,” he whispered. </p><p>He leaned up from his bed and in a fluid movement he placed his lips over Sasuke’s. </p><p>The Captain froze for a moment. Naruto feared the worst but then Sasuke moved his hand to Naruto’s waist and leaned into the kiss. </p><p>Naruto smile against Sasuke’s lips, he moved to deepen it but then something took over the Captain and he grew rigid. </p><p>He pushed Naruto away and stood up in lightning speed.  He wiped his mouth furiously. </p><p>“Just go to sleep,” he said in a gruff voice and then left the room without another word.</p>
<hr/><p>When Naruto woke up the next morning, he wanted to kill himself. He had a brain splitting migraine, but it was the memories from last night that made him want to jump off a cliff and die.</p><p>Way to go Uzumaki, he thought bitterly. It was just like him to ruin everything by thinking with his pants. Sasuke had again went over and beyond for Naruto and Naruto had to go be his stupid ass regular self.</p><p>He was so mad at himself; he could cry. Why was he such a human disaster?</p><p>As Naruto made his way to the kitchen, he begged to the Gods that Sasuke had already left for work, but of course the Captain was making breakfast, not looking the least bit hung over. </p><p>But Naruto could see the rigid line of his shoulders. The man was clearly furious. </p><p>“I’m so sorry for last night,” Naruto said, bowing low in a 90-degree angle. “What I did was highly inappropriate, gross and stupid and I’m so so sorry.”</p><p>Sasuke huffed, “Stop it, you’re acting like you killed somebody. There’s no need to be this dramatic.”</p><p>Naruto lifted his head and looked up at Sasuke in perplex. “I need to apologize, what I did was way out of line.”</p><p>“Look, we were both drunk and it was nothing serious, so let’s forget about it.”</p><p>“I can’t forget about it when your clearly angry at me,” Naruto shot back. </p><p>Sasuke pinched his nose in frustration, “I’m not angry at you, so just drop it, okay?” </p><p>Naruto opened his mouth to protest but was interrupted by a heavy knock at the front door.</p><p>“Stay here,” Sasuke said and left the kitchen to see who it was. </p><p>The guilt of his actions was still clouding Naruto’s thoughts. His mind kept replaying the kiss over and over in his head like a movie. The want that was simmering in his chest last night did not go away either and he hated himself for twisting Sasuke’s generosity into something else. </p><p>He really was a shitty person. </p><p>All of a sudden, a woman made her way to the kitchen strutting in with confidence like she owned the place. She was beautiful with striking jade eyes and cherry blossom pink hair.</p><p>Also, judging from her pristine, tweed blazer and skirt, she was very rich as well. </p><p>Sasuke followed behind the woman and looked like he was holding back tempest of anger. The woman on the other hand looked confused seeing Naruto at first, but quickly honed her features in a genial smile.</p><p>“Hello,” she said in a kindly voice, “are you a colleague of Sasuke's?”</p><p>“Umm, yeah I’m Naruto, I work in the military,” Naruto said with a bow. “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>“Likewise,” she said with a smile and a tilt of her head. “I’m Sakura Haruno, Sasuke’s fiancé.” </p><p>Naruto felt his heart drop.</p><p>Great, not only was he a shitty person, he was also a homewrecker.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy new year guys!!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. So sorry for the long hiatus. Life has been trying to kill me, but I found some time to finally come back to this lil story lolol. I hope y’all like this new instalment and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. </p><p>Ps: The first person who correctly guesses the song the group is dancing to gets a shout out! ❤️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Arrangement</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“And handsome, it’s so frustrating.”</p>
<p>Sasuke had no idea was sort of sorcery Naruto possessed, but he was transfixed. The blonde’s brown sun kissed skin was washed in a pink flush and his gem like eyes shined with such unbridled want. </p>
<p>It was such a beautiful sight; how could he dare look away? </p>
<p>When Naruto leaned up and to place his lips on his, Sasuke did not a move away. </p>
<p>He knew it was wrong. He was promised to someone else, but with Naruto’s soft lips on him, his engagement was the farthest thing on his mind. </p>
<p>So, he gave in. He placed his hand on the man’s waist and leaned in.</p>
<p>He felt the blond smile and in response Sasuke deepened the kiss. He pushed the blonde back onto the bed, never breaking contact.</p>
<p>Naruto spread his legs as Sasuke settled into to place. Sasuke moved to blonde’s neck and fixated on a spot underneath the man’s jaw that made him let out a breathy gasp. </p>
<p>He felt Naruto’s has pull on his uniform shirt. </p>
<p>“Get this off, I want to feel you.”</p>
<p>“You first,” Sasuke said as he pulled off Naruto’s sweater to expose the glorious unmarked planes of his chest. He only got a short look that afternoon, but now he could really have a taste. </p>
<p>“Glad to see you’re still a prick in bed,” Naruto said with a little laugh which then broke off to a moan when Sasuke brushed against a nipple.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Naruto said, his voice a breathy whisper. “Hey Sasuke? </p>
<p>Sasuke was in the midst of kissing done the man’s flat stomach but paused to looked up. </p>
<p>Naruto propped himself on his elbows. He titled his head as he looked down at Sasuke like he was a sad schoolboy. </p>
<p>“Having a wet dream at your big age is kinda embarrassing huh?”</p>
<p>Sasuke woke with a jolt just as his alarm let out its familiar shrill. He was panting and his face was hot in embarrassment. Why was his brain acting like some repressed horny teenager? This was all Naruto’s fault. If the idiot hadn’t kissed him, his brain wouldn’t have been plagued with such thoughts. </p>
<p>But while Sasuke was mad at the blonde, he was angrier with himself. Naruto was beyond inebriated and it was clear as day that he was attracted to Sasuke, but Sasuke should have been stronger and resisted the man’s charms. He had no problem rebuffing advances in the past. In his boarding school days, he did fool around with a few nameless classmates, but he was always in control and whenever they would try to start a serious relationship with him, he would drop them without a moment’s hesitation. After his parents announced his engagement, out of respect to his future wife, he put a complete stop to his floundering days and kept a permanent wall between him and his countless admirers. </p>
<p>But then, Naruto had to literally fall out the sky and break through those barriers with his stupid, beautiful, face.</p>
<p>Sasuke needed to be put a stop to this. His actions last night made it clear that he had grown too attached to the blonde. A week ago, he would never have never gone out and made an impromptu party for a practical stranger, but for some reason his brain lost all rational thought when he looked at the man’s pretty blue eyes. </p>
<p>But that was no more. He promised himself that there would be no special treatment, no gifts, nothing. The blonde was leaving in a week, so Sasuke’s would focus on getting him out of the country and out of his life as smoothly as possible.  </p>
<p>Getting the those travel documents had been the first part of that plan and obtaining them was by no means easy for him.  He had always tried to live his life without using the connections his family name had afforded him, put desperate times called for desperate measures, so yesterday instead of heading to work, Sasuke swallowed his pride and visited his parents.  </p>
<p>Luckily his father was away for work, so he only had to deal with his mother who had a much more caring disposition.</p>
<p>Instead of being in their palatial manor, she was knees deep in the dirt working on her very growing garden. When she caught sight of Sasuke, she dropped her sheers in excitement and enveloped him in a motherly embrace. He couldn’t help but feel wrecked with guilt.  While he tried to call her on a weekly basis, it had been months since he had actually seen her.</p>
<p>She had ushered him to their vine covered gazebo for tea and shade. </p>
<p>“Now,” she said, taking a sip of her tea, “While I do love seeing you, I know you didn’t come here for a friendly chit chat so tell me what’s wrong.” </p>
<p>He couldn’t tell her everything because he didn’t want to incriminate her, but she was his mother, so he tried to keep to the truth as much possible. </p>
<p>“I need travel documents to get out of the country,” he said simply </p>
<p>That made the smile disappear from her face and she had a haunted look.</p>
<p>“Are you in trouble, Sasuke?” she placed her hand on top of his. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”</p>
<p>“Nothing’s wrong, and they aren’t for me I promise,” he said holding her small calloused fingers in reassurance. “I’m not planning on leaving. They’re for a friend.”</p>
<p>The haunted look cleared form her eyes, but she still looked wary.</p>
<p>“Sasuke this is still a big ask. You know ever since your uncle defected and your brother’s passing our family’s been under a microscope. If word gets out that you’re helping someone leave…”</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important,” Sasuke said. “He can’t stay here, and I made a promise, so please, mother I need your help. “He looked at his with imploring eyes.   </p>
<p>She let out a huge sigh, “This must be a maternal weakness, but I can’t say no when you look at me like that.” She let out a huff. “Though I wish you were asking for a later bedtime instead of me breaking state law.”</p>
<p>He kissed her hand. “Thank you, mother.”</p>
<p>“Not so fast. We still have to sell this to your father. I may be a retired council member, but even I can’t operate under a general’s noise.”</p>
<p>Sasuke knew that this would happen, so he had come prepared with a solution.</p>
<p>“You say that we’re under a microscope, so why don’t we give something for the masses to chew on?”</p>
<p>His mom lifted a fine brow. “Do you have anything in mind?”</p>
<p>“What’s more exciting than a wedding? I know I’ve been avoiding this responsibility for far too long but let’s set a date for my wedding. I’m sure Sakura will be in agreement.”</p>
<p>His mother smiled behind the rim of her teacup. “That will certain soften the blow to your father.”</p>
<p>With that he took care of the bureaucratic portion of his problem. Now, he just needed to stop thinking with his pants and get control of his emotions to make a clean break away from the blonde. </p>
<hr/>
<p>After a very cold shower he started making breakfast.  As Sasuke was prepping the veggies for their omelets he paused. Cooking meals for Naruto certainly fell into the “special treatment” bucket, so he put away the vegetables. There was food available to him at the base and Naruto could make his own god damn food. </p>
<p>It was then when Naruto sauntered into the kitchen. Even hung over, the Southerner was effortlessly pretty with his wild sleep-dishevelled blond locks and flushed face. </p>
<p>Naruto at least had the decency to look guilty. He started his apology but Sasuke tried to put a quick stop to it. The less they talked about it, the less likely he’d slip up again. </p>
<p>Then a knock interrupted their conversation. </p>
<p>His squad all had keys to his house, plus Suigetsu and Karin were not the polite sort, so it definitely wasn’t them. </p>
<p>A chill ran through Sasuke’s bones. It was not far-fetched to think it was the secret police. Kabuto had not hidden the suspicions he had about Sasuke and his new fiancé. It didn’t help matters that the Lieutenant General was a viciously ambitious man. Tearing down an Uchiha would result in too much political capital for a man like Kabuto to ignore.  </p>
<p>“Stay here,” he said to Naruto as he checked to see who was knocking.</p>
<p>Sasuke placed his hand on his pistol and opened the door. </p>
<p>There was no swarm of men in dark suits posed to take him and his fake fiancé away but that did not mean the visitor was a welcomed one. </p>
<p>“Sasuke, it’s so nice to see you,” Sakura, his real fiancé, said as she leaped up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. </p>
<p>“Sakura, what hell are you doing here? I thought you were still in the Iron nation,” Sasuke said, while trying to pry woman off him. She was surprisingly strong for such a petit person.</p>
<p>“My parents were able to pull some strings so now I can finish my residency in Otogakure,” she said smiling up at him with adoring eyes. </p>
<p>The years had been kind to Sakura.  The last time had seen her was five years at the annual the General Council Gala. Their parents had just made their engagement official and wanted them to attend the party as a pair to show off themselves off to the world. It was also supposed to act as a send-off for Sakura who was heading off to Iron Nation for med school. The whole night had been an awkward affair. Sakura, while eighteen at the time, still had a teenage air about her and spent the night blushing and being too shy to start a proper conversation with him. </p>
<p>Sasuke wasn’t any better. He was an utterly unpleasant partner and spent the night evading her to find a quiet place where he could drown himself in wine. </p>
<p>The Sakura standing in front of her looked like a brand-new person. She shredded he teenage awkwardness and stood before him as woman brimming with confidence. Her transformation made sense, one had to be strong willed to finish med school early. </p>
<p>“That still doesn’t explain how why you’re here,” Sasuke said. If only she had waiting one damn week. The Harunos were model citizens with a pristine reputation. There was no way Sakura would react well to the fact that he was harbouring a Southern alien. </p>
<p>“I wanted to surprise you! Now that we have an official wedding date, I thought it was high time I came back and got acquainted with my future husband, so as soon as I got my placement at Otogakure Civic I got on the first flight to the Sound,” she said, tucking some of her pink hair behind her ear. </p>
<p>“Your mom only told me you were in Ono, but luckily some of villagers pointed me to the right direction.”</p>
<p>Sasuke felt his heart stop. “Villagers? You were seen? What did you say to them?”</p>
<p>“That I was meeting my fiancé and that I needed directions.” She titled her head and a bemused look shot across her face. “Now that I think about it, they were acting a bit weird about my request. Almost shocked for some reason.” </p>
<p>She then let out a little giggled and shrugged. “I guess they’re not used to couples visiting each other unchaperoned house before marriage. I heard rural folks can be super conservative.”</p>
<p>It took everything in Sasuke not bash his head against the door frame and end it all. Of course, the villagers were surprised to hear that he supposedly had two fiancés. How the fuck was he going to explain that? </p>
<p>“Anyways, aren’t you going to let me in? I’m so jet lagged and I’m going to die if I don’t get coffee in me right now.”</p>
<p>“Sakura I’m in the middle of -” she didn’t wait for an answer.  Using her short stature to her advantage, she slipped past under his arms to breeze into the home.</p>
<p>“We have so much to catch up on Sasuke…” Her voice dropped as she caught sight of Naruto sitting at the counter looking up at her with his big blue eyes. </p>
<p>Sasuke wanted the ground to swallow him right then and there. </p>
<p>Sakura looked at Naruto like he was some complex mathematical formula. With his boyish, cheery demeanor, the man looked nothing like a soldier and Sasuke was not the type to invite friends over to spend the night. </p>
<p>“Hello,” she said in a kindly voice, “are you a colleague of Sasuke?” It looked like Sakura was thankfully giving him the benefit of the doubt. </p>
<p>Naruto looked utterly confused but played along. When Sakura finally revealed that she was his betrothed a look of panic took over the blonde face. Sasuke wanted to reassure the man that he did nothing wrong and that he had nothing to worry about, but now wasn’t the time for that. </p>
<p>“Oh, I didn’t know the Captain was engaged,” Naruto schooled his features to something more genial, “I guess congratulations are in order.”</p>
<p>Sakura let out a little laugh, “Thanks but we’ve actually been engaged for a while now, how long has it been? Five years?” She turned to Sasuke for an answer.</p>
<p>“Yes, it’s five,” Sasuke murmured.</p>
<p>“Yeah, all my girlfriends have been teasing me about it, they all had really short engagements, so I’m the odd one out.” The resentment in her voice was not missed by Sasuke. </p>
<p>“But now, we have a date so as you can imagine me and Sasuke have a lot to discuss,” She said shooting Naruto smile that had a glacial edge. It her way of dismissing blonde. </p>
<p>“Oh,” Naruto obviously got the message, “Of course. I’ll let you two catch up.” He awkwardly made his way to the guest room. </p>
<p>The silence that took over them was suffocating. It was clear that Sakura had some suspicions about Naruto but was too polite to say anything. </p>
<p>His mother raised no brute, so Sasuke started making coffee for the two of them. He pushed a steaming mug toward his fiancé who took a deep sip and sighed. </p>
<p>“I’m no military expert but that is no soldier,” she finally said. </p>
<p>“Sakura,” Sasuke said in a warning tone. </p>
<p>“And his accent, what kind of soldier sounds like that?” She pressed on. </p>
<p>“That’s because he’s no soldier,” Sasuke admitted.</p>
<p>Sakura raised a brow.</p>
<p>Sasuke could come clean right now and tell her the crazy tale of how Naruto ended in his care. But the words could not come out of his month He was no fool, he knew that the woman was utterly infatuated by him and to her, Naruto would just be a liability that could lead to her loves demise. She owned Naruto nothing so it was extremely likely that she would go to the authorities on Sasuke’s behalf to remove the blonde. Sasuke could not risk that. </p>
<p>“He’s a division 7 operative. He looks like that because he has to blend in as a Southerner for missions. </p>
<p>That made Sakura stand up straighter. “Division 7? Sasuke why would you be working with a spy? That makes no sense.” </p>
<p>Sasuke sighed and placed his hand over hers. That made a blush spread across her pale cheeks like water colour on paper. </p>
<p>“Sakura, I’m not at liberty to tell you the type of work I’m doing with him, but please just trust me okay?” He said, staring deeply in her eyes. </p>
<p>It looked like part of Sakura still that teenager that was head over heels for him because she folded at his gaze like origami. </p>
<p>“Of course, I trust you,” she said, gripping his hand. “I just didn’t like how he was looking at you. He was looking at you like damn puppy.” She finished with grumble. </p>
<p>Sasuke tried to not react to her words. Of course, Sakura was territorial. Coming from one of countries wealthiest families in the country meant the world was at her fingertips, no questions asked, so seeing someone show even a hint of interest in something she had deemed as hers was an afront she was not used to. </p>
<p>“He’ll be gone in a week,” Sasuke promised. </p>
<p>Sakura nodded. She then surveyed her surroundings, “I must say I didn’t know you’d be staying somewhere so…quaint,” she said diplomatically. </p>
<p>Her critical appraisal was such a sharp contrast to the way Naruto looked the old house, with eyes filled with wonder and awe. It wasn’t a fair comparison though since Naruto was weirdo who got exited seeing exposed beams made of ancient wood. </p>
<p>“It’s dated and it’s not fit for someone like you,” Sasuke said. </p>
<p>Sakura looked embarrassed, “I didn’t mean that Sasuke. I’ll stay with you anywhere.” A blush took over her face once again. “As long as I get to see you, that’s all that matters.”</p>
<p>Sasuke shook his head, “I can’t let my future wife stay somewhere this. You deserve better. Let me drive you back to the Capital. We can have lunch with your folks and discuss wedding preparations.” </p>
<p>It looked like those were the right words to say because Sakura was practically glowing. “That would be amazing. During the plane ride that was all I could think about. I have so many ideas on the arrangements.” </p>
<p>Sasuke nodded. He would much rather eat his foot than talk about such things, but he played along.</p>
<p>“I just need tell my partner that I’ll be gone for the day. Don’t worry, he can handle our tasks by himself.”</p>
<p>When Sasuke got to the guest room, he found Naruto pacing in place while biting at the nail of his thumb. Once he realized that Sasuke was in the room, the blond walked up and smacked him on the chest. </p>
<p>“The fuck was that for?” Sasuke said in a whispered yell. </p>
<p>“Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?” Naruto shot back. </p>
<p>“It doesn’t even concern you so why the fuck would you care?”</p>
<p>That made the blonde bristle in anger like street cat, “Doesn’t concern me? How can you say that when we kissed?”</p>
<p>“Will you shut up?” Sasuke said, viciously cutting the man off.  Naruto looked up at him with those wide eyes. Sasuke had to look away so he stared over the man’s shoulder instead.  </p>
<p>“I don’t know how to get it through your thick skull that what happened last night was a meaningless fluke. But you need to stop bringing it up because it is honestly exhausting talking to you.” </p>
<p>“Oh,” Naruto said quietly, stepping back. “I didn’t know you felt that way.”</p>
<p>Sasuke sighed, but then carried on. “I don’t feel anything towards you. All I’m trying to do is to get you out of here and out of my life, so please don’t make this into something it is not.” Sasuke finished in a cold tone. </p>
<p>One of the things Sasuke had grown admire about Naruto was how free he was with his emotions. He seemed to never be scared or ashamed to tell you how he was feeling, and his face was an open book to match. From the glimmer of his eyes, to the quirk from his lips, he drew you in and demanded your attention.  </p>
<p>But now he looked closed off and his eyes were dull, giving away nothing. </p>
<p>“Thank you for clarifying how you feel,” he said in a quiet voice. </p>
<p>Sasuke nodded. “I’m going to be at the Capital for the rest of the day so stay out of trouble and don’t wait up for me.”</p>
<p>Naruto didn’t say anything but nodded.</p>
<p>And with that Sasuke ignored the pinching at his chest and escorted Sakura out of the village in his military jeep. </p>
<p>For the most part their ride was silent with Sakura admiring mountain pass and Sasuke focusing all his attention on the road, trying to forget the harsh words he spoke to Naruto a short while ago. </p>
<p>He suddenly felt eyes on him.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong,” Sasuke asked, not taking his eyes off the pavement. </p>
<p>“Nothing,” Sakura said. “I actually wanted to ask you if there was something on your mind.”</p>
<p>“Why?” Sasuke shot back. </p>
<p>“I don’t know,” Sakura said. She started fidgeting with the lock switch at her side door. “You look sort of,” she struggled to find the right word, “sullen. I’m not dumb, I know an arranged marriage isn’t the pinnacle of romance, but I want us to be happy.” </p>
<p>“We will be,” Sasuke said, his voice filled with resolve. He said those words not only to reassure her but also himself. He will get Naruto home, he will do his duty and marry Sakura, and he will stop being massive disappointment. </p>
<p>“And please don’t take offense to my expression, I always look sullen.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Look at this, two updates in one month???? Even I’m surprised. I wrote this all in one go so please don’t mind the errors lol.  Thank you for all the lovely feedback, your comments really do inspire me so plzz keep them coming. </p>
<p>À bientôt!!!!💖</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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